$462m FIGHTER JETS: Reps threaten to impeach Buhari

The House of Representatives on Tuesday got highly enraged as President Muhammadu Buhari confirmed that he actually authorised the purchase of $462 million fighter jets for the military without appropriation by the National Assembly.

The angry Reps members, who could not stomach the development, described the action of Buhari as an impeachable offence, highest level of misconduct and suggested commencing processes to impeach the President.

The President is said to ordered 12 Tucano aircraft from the US, with the funds, which will be delivered to Nigeria in 2020.

Speaker Yakubu Dogara, had during House plenary on Tuesday, read a letter from Buhari, where he informed the lawmakers that he has indeed spent the money for the purchase of the fighter jets, in “anticipation of approval” by the National Assembly.

The letter threw the House into a rowdy session with many of the lawmakers describing the letter as a “mere afterthought”, since the expenditure had been done already.

After the Speaker intervened and eventually calmed the lawmakers down, the House resolved that the letter had to be appropriately deferred for debate on another date so that the House would take a position on the next line of action.

Earlier, the chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts, Mr. Kingsley Chinda, had raised a point of order to draw the attention of members to the alleged “constitutional breach” by the President, arguing that both the 1999 Constitution and other laws in the country did not recognise spending by the President in “anticipation of approval” by the legislature.

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“This matter ($462 million) came up last week. Today, Mr. President has admitted that the expenditure has already been incurred. We are supposed to be a watchdog, but as it is, we cannot bite.

“This is an impeachable offence and there is no misconduct that is more serious than this. I propose that we commence the impeachment of Mr. President, based on this infraction.”

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