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5 days after, Presidency denies reports Buhari approved $1bn for arms to fight insurgency

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Five days after it was announced that President Muhammadu Buhari had approved $1 billion for the purchase of equipments to fight insurgency and other crimes, the Presidency has described the reports as false.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Ita Enang, who spoke with State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Monday, claimed that there was no truth in the report that Buhari approved $1 billion for the purchase of equipment for the military.

The Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, had on Wednesday told State House correspondents at the end of a meeting Buhari had with him and security chiefs at the Presidential Villa, Abuja that $1 billion had been approved by the president to purchase equipment for the fight against insurgency.

But responding on Monday, Enang said that Buhari cannot approve such money for spending, adding that what the president did was that after getting the approval from the National Economic Council for the money to be spent, that he held a meeting with the Minister of Defence, Service Chiefs and the Inspector-General of Police, among others to collate the need of each of the services and the money available for appropriation.

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According to Enang, Buhari having collated the needs of each service and the amount involved, may now table the matter to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for detailed consideration, or in exercise of presidential powers, may communicate the issue to the National Assembly for appropriation.

It is believed that the denial is coming on the heels of opposition to the announcement by the federal legislature, specifically the Senate which has contended that the president cannot approve such a sum without its consent.

 

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