President Muhammadu Buhari last night described the misapplication of the arms purchase cash as “an abuse of trust.”
He spoke at a dinner for the members of the House of Representatives at the old Banquet Hall of the State House in Abuja.
Former National Security Adviser (NSA) Sambo Dasuki, along with other individuals, are on trial for alleged diversion of arms purchase cash.
The President expressed disappointment that the necessary equipment and other logistics, which the money was meant for, were not supplied, thereby working against defeating Boko Haram.
“Unfortunately for us as a people, we uncovered that billions of Naira and hundreds of millions of dollars were expended by the previous government to acquire good equipment and ammunition so that the military can use, but unfortunately, there was abuse of trust at various levels that cost Nigeria a lot of lives and goodwill.
“We cannot keep quiet about it and facts are coming out gradually. It is very unfortunate. It is a known fact that Nigeria earned its respect from Burma to Zaire to Liberia to Sierra Leone. But it reached a stage where the Nigerian military could not secure 14 local governments out of the 774 local governments.
“As I have always said, how has the mighty fallen? We are doing our best and I hope our best will be good enough,” Buhari said.
He sought the support and understanding of members of the House of Representatives to secure the nation, noting that the obvious problem facing the nation is the Boko Haram issue.
He described Nigeria as the main battleground of the Boko Haram terrorism.
He added that his administration inherited some good intentions o including the plan for the Multi-national Joint Task Force (MJTF) to tackle Boko Haram in the region.
He urged the lawmakers to be very clear about the objective of securing the nation as they are all in government.
“I will like to seek your understanding and support to secure the country.” He said
Speaker Yakubu Dogara pledged the support of the lawmakers to the President.
He said: “I believe if we don’t get it right under you, those of us in this generation should forget about getting it right.
“We believe we have to lay the foundation that will deliver the lasting legacy to the people.”
