Arms procurement: We were sidelined – Defence Ministry

The Ministry of Defence said on Thursday that it was initially involved in the procurement of military hardware and munitions before the responsibility was later shifted to security services.

 

Permanent Secretary Ismaila Aliyu stated this in an interview with State House correspondents shortly after the ministry and the Defence Headquarters briefed President Muhammadu Buhari.

 

Buhari had Monday ordered an investigation into the procurement of hardware and munitions in the Armed Forces from 2007 till now. A 13-man committee headed by AVM J.O.N. Ode (rtd) had been specifically mandated to 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.

 

Fielding a question on the involvement of his ministry in the investigation, the permanent secretary said: "Definitely, the ministry was involved in the procurement of arms sometimes, but in recent years, the responsibility was shifted to the services".

 

Describing the briefing as a family meeting, the permanent secretary disclosed that the president had asked that the ministry be included in the investigation committee.

 

He added: "The ministry was very involved in the procurement in those years. So, definitely we have something to present to that committee. So, we’re part and parcel of that committee. The ministry is very excited that this committee has been formed because our own concern, apart from the administrative and financial support, is to make sure that policy thrust is very complied with, procurement of relevant

equipment, according to specification of Nigerian armed forces, is being

complied with. And we’re very happy for that".

 

Aliyu said at the end of the investigation, the ministry hoped to have a value-added and cost-effective procurement that would meet the country’s needs locally and internationally.

 

He said terror had not come to stay in Nigeria because it is not part of the nation’s culture and training. "It’s not part of us. We want you to extend this to Nigerians that terror will soon end. Yes, when we came, there was no terror, but now there is terror and we’re training, retraining and repositioning the Nigeria’s armed forces to fight the insurgency. Nigeria is leading. Nigeria has fought and assisted sister countries in peacekeeping, and there’s no reason Nigerian armed forces will not fight", he added.

 

The permanent secretary also stated that the service chiefs were already working on how they could beat the three-month deadline the president gave them to end the Boko Haram insurgency.

 

"You’ve been hearing a lot, but you’ve not been seeing a lot of them coming out. The armed forces, particularly the Nigerian army and the air force, have taken it upon themselves. Immediately after the decoration of the service

chiefs, they took it upon themselves, with the marching order of Mr President, to go out and make Nigerians proud and he has given them three months. They’re working round the clock to even see if they can beat the deadline", he said.

 

Aliyu also said the president was happy with the ongoing counter-insurgency operations as there was a substantial progress.

 

"He (the president) has asked us to continue with the momentum and he is very willing to support the needs of the armed forces", the permanent secretary stated.