One billion dollars Arms Purchase: Buhari is Courting Trouble – Lawmaker

The Chairman, House of Representative Committee on Army, Hon. Rimande Shawulu, on Thursday said President Muhammadu Buhari is courting trouble if he approves 1 billion dollars for arms procurement without the approval of the National Assembly.

According to Shawulu there would be serious trouble if any money goes out for such purpose in that the president lacks the constitutional powers to embark on such solo procurement without the mandate of the legislature.

Shawulu who is representing Donga/Ussa/Takum/Special Area Constituency of Taraba State made the remarks in an interview with journalists shortly after the opening ceremony of the Second Procurement Awareness Seminar organised by the Directorate of Procurement, Army Headquarters, at the Army Resource Centre, Abuja.

Reacting to reports quoting the Minister of Defence Mansur Dan Ali as saying that the President had approved 1 billion dollars for arms procurement to fight insurgency and other criminal activities in the country, the lawmaker said he was optimistic that the Minister’s statement is a mere policy pronouncement.

He said: “The fact of the matter is that there are processes for money coming into the federation accounts for the money to be used.

“And other point that we must note is that a lot of times, pronouncements are policy statements which are not executed, however, it’s not as if as at that yesterday, when the announcement was made, the federation account was debited. No, it doesn’t happen that way.

“When the president says he’s going to spend money, there’s a process that is followed before the money is spent. So I want you to understand that, it’s not as if money has gone out”.

“However, if money has gone out without parliamentary approval, that’s a problem, it’s a very serious problem if money went out without parliamentary approval, ” Hon Shawulu asserted

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, in his opening speech said it is clear that the operational capability of the Nigerian Army today depends on the availability of requisite hardware, highly trained personnel and other essential resources.

He said in the past few years, the army “has no doubt taken robust steps and placed  policies in enhancing its Procurement plans and processes with a view to meeting its  overarching constitutional roles.

The Army Chief  said the theme for this year’s seminar” Optimizing the Operational Capabilities of the Nigerian Army through an Effective Procurement System”, was quite unique and significant, especially in view of the accute need to strengthen the capacity of the Nigerian Army towards meeting the present growing security challenges.

“The security challenges facing our dear country manifest in the forms of terrorism, insurgency, separatist movements and banditry amongst others, ” he said.

He  however charged participants to reflect on the theme bearing in mind the opportunities to enhance the Nigerian Army capabilities, building upon ongoing successes in “our  operational commitments and improving our Procurement methods as well as processes in line with the provisions of the Public Procurement Act 2007

“This seminar, therefore, provides a veritable platform for us to familiarize and educate ourselves sufficiently on the Procurement matters  that would enable the Nigerian Army compete successfully in the opportunities that arise from the implementation of the national budget”

However the Director of Procurement, Army Headquarters, Brigadier General E T Essien, in his welcome address, said the seminar was convened in line with the Nigerian Army training directive 2018.

The objective of the seminar, he explained, was to develop the capacity of the Nigerian Army personnel on procurement procedures in accordance with the Public Procurement Act, PPA 2007.