– Nigeria’s government said former president, Goodluck Jonathan bought substandard weapons
– Lai Mohammed said the sorry state of things show the kind of legacy left by the past administration
– He said President Muhmmadu Buhari’s administration came on board and made the situation better
The federal government has said...
the weapons purchased to prosecute the war against Boko Haram by former president, Goodluck Jonathan were substandard.
In a statement issued on Monday, February 1, Lai Mohammed, the minister of Information and Culture the weapons bought by Jonathan could not have been responsible for the recent successes of the military in the fight against terrorism, Premium Times reports.
He said the purchase of substandard weapons apparently resulted from the massive corruption that enveloped the deals.
“The weapons, munitions and equipment which the former President said he bought were refurbished and lacked the basic components and spare parts. Additionally, the ammunition bought for both high calibre and small weapons have mostly expired, incompatible with weapons and grossly inadequate.
“It is pertinent to state that the ammunition he was referring to were back loaded because they explode within the barrel when fired, thus leading to deaths and injuries among soldiers,” he said.
Mohammed was apparently reacting to a statement credited to Jonathan in which he attributed the recent victory in the war against insurgency to the weapons bought by his administration.
Jonathan in an exclusive interview to France 24 had said: “The current administration continues to fight them with the weapons we acquired and collectively I am confident we will eradicate them.”
According to the minister, Jonathan’s statement was “unfortunate and unsubstantiated.”
He noted that the situation was so pathetic and it was President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration that made the situation better.
“The revelations on the sorry state of things in the past, which have emanated from the investigative panel so far, point clearly to the kind of legacy bequeathed to this administration by the past government.
“That explains why troops remained largely static and were unable to effectively deploy to completely rout the Boko Haram terrorists in all their known enclaves. The high level of casualties sustained by our gallant soldiers was most unprecedented and cannot be compared to any known military operations in recent times, all because of the terrible state of affairs suffered by the military under the Jonathan Administration,” the minister said.
Mohammed said Jonathan could not understand how credible and dedicated leadership could impact positively on the morale and performance of troops and that is why he has to criticise Buhari’s administration for the unprecedented feat that was achieved within the first six months of his administration, something he failed to achieve in all of six years.
Some days back, Jonathan denied negotiating with the Boko Haram sect. He also denied the allegations of corruption against his government.
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