President Muhammadu Buhari said Monday in Abuja that his
administration was taking urgent and appropriate actions to restore order, due
process and probity to the procurement processes of the nation's Armed Forces.
Speaking at a meeting with the British Secretary
of State for Defence, Mr. Michael Fallon, President Buhari lamented that the
procurement of equipment for Nigeria 's
Armed Forces which followed due process in the past, had become open to corruption and
shady deals under the last administration.
"They just put
foreign exchange in a briefcase and traveled to procure equipment for the
military. That is why we have found ourselves in the crisis we are now facing,”
the President said.
Welcoming the offer
by the British Government to assist Nigeria in defence procurements,
intelligence gathering and training, President Buhari restated his conviction
that the international community must collaborate more and work with greater
unity of purpose to overcome global terrorism.
“Terrorism has
become very sophisticated now. If developed nations can be attacked, and
hundreds of lives lost, how much more developing countries?
"In the West
African sub-region, Nigeria
is the main battleground of the Boko Haram insurgency. We have made a lot of
progress against the terrorists, but we will welcome more assistance from our
friends and the international community," the President told Mr. Fallon.
Mr. Fallon said he
was in the country to see what more Britain
could do to support Nigeria
in battling terrorism and violent extremism.
"Groups like Boko Haram don’t believe in democracy and freedom of choice, so it’s a common fight for us all,” he told President Buhari.
"Groups like Boko Haram don’t believe in democracy and freedom of choice, so it’s a common fight for us all,” he told President Buhari.
Femi
Adesina
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
December 21, 2015
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
December 21, 2015