Arms Deal: Buhari Ready To Hear GEJ Out – Presidency

Femi Adesina, the special adviser to president Muhammadu Buhari has revealed that the president is willing to grant ex-president Goodluck Jonathan audience, should he sought to make clarifications in view of the $2.1billion arms deal scandal which is under investigation.

Adesina made the disclosure in an interview with The Punch on Saturday, January 16.
According to him, President Buhari believes in civility, and at such he would give former president Jonathan listening ears.

President Buhari will grant ex-president Goodluck Jonathan audience, should he sought to make clarifications in view of the $2.1billion arms deal scandal which is under investigation.
He said: “A former President should always have access to a sitting one. It would be uncouth and indecent to shut out a former occupant of such lofty office. If some people did it to their predecessors in the past, it is not this President who believes in decency and civility.
“Yes, President Buhari will always grant audience to former President Jonathan, if there is any request for such. A rebuff does not come into the picture at all.”
Also speaking with media outfit, a top government official on the condition of anonymity said that the Jonathan had tried to reach out to the National Security Adviser, Babagana Mongunu.
The source, however, said he did not know if Jonathan had succeeded in establishing a contact.
“I know that the former President has been trying to reach the NSA. Whether he has succeeded, I do not know. You can ask the NSA himself,” he said.

Buhari had on Friday, January 15,
directed the EFCC to carry out further investigation into the alleged misconduct established against some retired and serving officers of the Nigerian Air Force and Nigerian Army.
According to the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, the directive from President Buhari was based on the recommendation of the committee established to audit the procurement of arms and equipment in the Armed Forces and Defence sector from 2007 to 2015.
Those to be probed include: Air Chief Marshal AS Badeh (Rtd), Air Marshal MD Umar (Rtd), Air Marshal AN Amosu (Rtd), Maj-Gen. ER Chioba (Rtd), AVM IA Balogun (Rtd), AVM AG Tsakr (Rtd), AVM AG Idowu (Rtd), AVM AM Mamu, AVM OT Oguntoyinbo and AVM T Omenyi.
Others are AVM JB Adigun, AVM RA Ojuawo, AVM JA Kayode-Beckley, Air Cdre SA Yushau (Rtd), Air Cdre AO Ogunjobi, Air Cdre GMD Gwani, Air Cdre SO Makinde, Air Cdre AY Lassa, Col N Ashinze, Lt Col. MS Dasuki (Rtd)
In its first interim report, the Committee on Audit of Defence Equipment established that the sum N643bn and $2.1bn interventions were received for procurements by DHQ and the services between 2007 and 2015.
The audit report was said to have detailed the huge fraud in the procurement of arms which sparked President Muhammadu Buhari’s order to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the role played by several retired and serving officers as well as civilian contractors.
The report showed that the audit committee started work at the end of August 2015, and looked at the procurement of weapons and equipment for the period from 2007 to 2015.

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