The Chief Whip of the senate, Senator Ali Ndume on Tuesday debunked allegations that Budgetary allocations approved for security were diverted by former Service chiefs to build Military Universities which were cited in their villages.
Ndume who was speaking as former senate Committee chairman on Army said the Appropriation for the Universities had nothing to do with that for security for procurement of arms and ammunition for containing insurgency.
Senator Ndume was reacting to Senator Adams Oshiomhole’s allegation that previous Service chiefs diverted money meant for procuring armarments to fight insurgency to build universities that were cited in their villages which are now glorified secondary schools that are not teaching anything about security.
According to Ndume, the monies for the universities were duly appropriated hence it is wrong to say they were diverted.
“I really don’t want to talk too much about it. The decision has been taken in the sense that we don’t move forward by always looking backward and that’s why I’m sorry to say that we must change this attitude.
“Something that happened during Buratai and something that is happening now that Labaja is the chief of army staff, he did not establish any universities.
“The work of the Senate is oversight. Oversight of what you appropriated and is about to be done. But the Senate also has power to do investigation. So what the Senate is saying, if he had anything to do with what was done in the past is that he should bring a motion for investigation.
“The universities that were established were not outside the budget, does it mean that now that we have the challenge of Boko Haram and bandits everything in the Nigerian army that they are supposed to do should stop? No.
“That money was appropriated. If you have any issue with what was spent, there is no money. You can’t spend money that is meant to be used in the theatre to build a university. It can’t be done that way. It must be appropriated.