$9.3m Scandal: APC Asks FG To Explain Asari-Dokubo’s Involvement Chibuzo Ukaibe , George Okojie — Oct 9, 2014 | Leave a comment The All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked President Goodluck Jonathan to explain to Nigerians what Mujaheed Asari-Dokubo was doing on the plane that illegally ferried US$ 9.3million to South Africa, where Asari- Dokubo, another Nigerian and an Israeli were said to have been arrested. In a statement issued in Abuja yesterday by its national publicity secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said since the federal government has taken ownership of the funds by saying the national security adviser (NSA) issued the end-user certificate for the arms purchase, the same government ought to know the involvement of all those aboard the plane. It said that the federal government has a lot of questions to answer on the whole deal, including whether Asari-Dokubo is the contractor or the end user, who he was procuring arms for and for what purpose. APC said the questions became pertinent because even the NSA, who issued the end- user agreement for the purchase, does not and cannot purchase arms for any of the armed services. “The service chiefs have separate budgets from the NSA for arms purchase. Under our Constitution, the NSA is an adviser and has no executive powers to deploy troops from any of the services or purchase arms for them. “That the arms purported to be purchased from South Africa were ordered from the office of the NSA is nothing but a mere fabrication, and raises serious questions about the motive for the purchase. “Nigerians will, therefore, like to know on whose behalf Asari-Dokubo was purchasing arms. This is very crucial because Asari- Dokubo has been threatening that Nigeria will not know peace if his benefactor, President Jonathan, is not re-elected. Therefore, Nigerians will like to know whether he has started stockpiling arms to make his threat a reality, since elections are due in a few months’ time. “If these arms are meant to fight insurgency as the government has claimed, what is Asari- Dokubo’s business purchasing arms for the Nigerian military, if indeed they were for the military? Did it not occur to the Nigerian government that this man who once took arms against the state may not have jettisoned his sinister plan against the same state? Which country will ever allow a man who once carried arms against the state to now be purchasing arms for the same state? Even if it is true that he is purchasing the arms for the state, what prevents him from also using the opportunity to purchase arms for his own sinister motive? Could this be why Asari- Dokubo has been talking publicly and confidently, without official censure, that President Jonathan must be re-elected or Nigeria will not know peace again?’’ the party queried. It further said, “In our press release on Tuesday, we again asked President Jonathan to come clean on the US$9.3 million and US$5.7 million deals. We also asked him to tell Nigerians the identity of the two Nigerians who were on the plane that illegally ferried the money to South Africa. Now that the Nigerians are known, and they are the president’s men, the story has taken a new dimension”. APC said since those who claim to be fighting for Nigeria’s unity may actually be the ones working against it, and since those who lay claim to patriotism may actually be anything but patriotic, it is more urgent now than ever, for the National Assembly to take these cash- for-arms deals seriously, instead of dismissing the concerns of Nigerians on the basis of some rules as the House of Representatives has glibly done. The party commended the media for keeping the story alive and for working hard to unearth the identity of the Nigerians aboard the ill-fated plane that illegally flew money into another country in violation of that country’s laws and all known tenets of decency. It called on the media, in pursuance of its constitutional role of a watchdog, not to relent in exposing the circumstances surrounding the cash-for-arms deals, which have seriously embarrassed Nigeria in the comity of nations and which have the potential to threaten Nigeria’s unity, going by the latest revelations. Meanwhile, the leader of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force (NDPVF), Alhaji Asari- Dokubo has refuted claims that he was involved in the $9.3million arms deal in South Africa, stressing that the last time he entered South Africa was in 2002. Asari-Dokubo was reacting to a call by the APC for the federal government to explain his presence in the plane that was impounded by the South African government. A statement by APC’s national publicity secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, alleged that Asari was on the flight that carried the cash to South Africa. Asari who reacted from Saudi Arabia where he is performing the 2014 Hajj said the “APC has reduced itself to a party of liars,” noting that the last time he visited South Africa was in 2002. He said, “Can you enter any country without a visa? No person can enter any country without a visa. Presently, I am in Saudi Arabia performing my Hajj as the Amirul Hajj of Bayelsa State and this can be confirmed. I flew Flynass from Kaduna on the 27th. So, it is really a shame that Lai Mohammed who has defiled the name of Allah has become a pathological and award winning liar. “Nobody enters any country without a visa and I have not been to South Africa since 2002. My passport is present. I flew Arik Airline from Lagos on the 27th and went to Kaduna where I flew Flynass Airline and came to Saudi Arabia.
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 05:18:30 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015