[b] Panel of generals to examine Yar’Adua, Jonathan govts contracts

some likely contracts

•$466.5m contract to weaponise six Puma helicopters by the Jonathan administration

•N3b contract for the supply of six units of K-38 patrol boats to the disbanded Presidential Implementation Committee on Maritime Security (PICOMSS)

•Theft of over 200m Euros at PICOMMS and the purchase of two private jets

•$9.3m seized by South Africa

•$1b loan approved by the 7th Senate for arms purchase to fight Boko Haram

•Un-accessed N7b military budget

•Rehabilitation of the Military Reference Hospital in Kaduna

The panel members

•AVM J.O.N. Ode (rtd.) – president
•R/Adm J.A. Aikhomu (rtd.)
•R/Adm E. Ogbor (rtd.)
•Brig.-Gen. L. Adekagun (rtd.)
•Brig.-Gen. M. Aminun-Kano (rtd.)
•Brig.-Gen. N. Rimtip (rtd.)
•Cdre T.D. Ikoli – member,
•Air Cdre U. Mohammed (rtd.)
•Air Cdre I. Shafi’i
•Col. A.A. Ariyibi
•Gp. Capt. C.A. Oriaku (rtd.)
•Mr. I. Magu (EFCC)
•Brig.-Gen. Y.I. Shalangwa – secretary [/b]

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday approved a
13-man committee, which will examine the
procurement of arms and ammunition for the
Armed Forces from 2007 to date.

The period covers the administrations of the late
President Umaru Yar’Adua and former President
Goodluck Jonathan.

But the committee of former military chiefs may
face a major obstacle – arms, ammunition and
military hardware are not subjected to vetting by
the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).

Such purchases, The Nation learnt last night, are
over 350 in the last eight years. Some of them
sparked crises between Service Chiefs and political
authorities.

But many retired top military officers are believed
to be prepared to testify before the panel, which
got no deadline for its job.

For “security reasons”, arms purchases by the
military do not go through the BPP – the office that
examines government procurements to ensure cost-
effectiveness and others.

Before the President raised the panel, there had
been some petitions before the Office of the
National Security Adviser (NSA), the Department of
State Services (DSS) and the Defence Intelligence
Agency (DIA), among others, on some shady deals;
in arms procurement.

Some of the controversial issues are

* $466.5m contract to weaponise six Puma helicopters by the Jonathan administration;

* N3billion contract for the supply of six units of K-38 patrol boats to the disbanded Presidential

* Implementation Committee on Maritime Security
(PICOMSS);

* Theft of over 200m Euros by PICOMMS including the purchase of two private jets;

* $9.3m cash seized by South Africa;

* Whereabouts of $1billion loan approved by the 7th Senate for arms purchase to fight Boko Haram;

* Contract scam over rehabilitation of the Military Reference Hospital in Kaduna

The $466.5m weaponize contract was awarded to a
financier of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in
2014 by the administration of ex-President
Goodluck Jonathan, leading to a protest by one of
the immediate past Service Chiefs.

About two years ago, a businessman blew the lid
open on N3billion contract for the supply of six
units of K-38 patrol boats to the disbanded
Presidential Implementation Committee on Maritime
Security (PICOMSS).

The businessman alleged that one of the officials of
PICOMSS converted N620million down payment for
the contract into personal use.

Besides, PICOMSS was enmeshed in the theft of
over 200m Euros.

One of the contracts which drew national ourtrage
was the seizure in South Africa of $9.3m said to
have been meant for the purchase of arms.

President Buhari directed the National Security
Adviser, Babagana Munguno to convene the
investigative committee on the procurement of
hardware and munitions in the Armed Forces from
2007 till date.

According to a statement by the Special Adviser on
Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the investigative
committee’s mandate is to identify irregularities and
make recommendations for streamlining the
procurement process in the Armed Forces.

To this end, the statement said that the National
Security Adviser has constituted the Investigative
Committee as follows: AVM J.O.N. Ode (rtd.) –
president, R/Adm J.A. Aikhomu (rtd.) – member, R/
Adm E. Ogbor (rtd.) – member, Brig.-Gen. L.
Adekagun (rtd.) – member, Brig.-Gen. M. Aminun-
Kano (rtd.) – member, Brig.-Gen. N. Rimtip (rtd.) –
member.

Others are: Cdre T.D. Ikoli – member, Air Cdre U.
Mohammed (rtd.) – member, Air Cdre I. Shafi’i –
member, Col. A.A. Ariyibi – member, Gp. Capt. C.A.
Oriaku (rtd.) – member, Mr. I. Magu (EFCC) – member and Brig.-Gen. Y.I. Shalangwa – secretary.

The establishment of the investigative committee,
the statement said, is in keeping with President
Buhari’s determination to stamp out corruption and
irregularities in Nigeria’s public service.

It reads: “It comes against the background of the
myriad of challenges that the Nigerian Armed Forces
have faced in the course of ongoing counter-
insurgency operations in the Northeast, including
the apparent deficit in military platforms, with its
attendant negative effects on troops’ morale.

“The committee will specifically investigate
allegations of non-adherence to correct equipment
procurement procedures and the exclusion of
relevant logistics branches from arms procurement
under past administrations, which, very often
resulted in the acquisition of sub-standard and
unserviceable equipment.”

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powerfulsettingz:
When will Buhari probe our churches?