Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has alleged that withholding of appropriated security funds was directly responsible for the deaths of over 17,000 Nigerians since the advent of the President Bola Tinubu administration.
He cited revelations by Senator Mohammed Monguno, a chieftain of ruling All Progressives Congress APC, as vindication of long-standing opposition concerns.
In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku, who is the presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress, ADC, said Monguno’s intervention exposed the dangerous consequences of the Tinubu administration’s fiscal mismanagement and helped explain, in part, why insecurity had continued to consume lives across the country.
He noted that since the Tinubu administration assumed office, independent conflict monitors had estimated that well over 17,000 Nigerians had lost their lives in violent attacks, while thousands more had been abducted by terrorists, bandits and other criminal elements.
He said: “These are not mere statistics. They are fathers, mothers, children, farmers, students and breadwinners whose lives have been cut short. Behind every number is a family condemned to a lifetime of grief.
“For months, the APC dismissed every concern raised by the opposition about budget implementation, security funding and fiscal opacity as politics. Today, one of its own ranking senators has asked the very questions Nigerians have been asking.”
Atiku said Monguno did not merely question budget implementation but why duly enacted budgets were allegedly not being faithfully implemented; why trillions of naira generated by the federation were reportedly being retained instead of being distributed in accordance with the constitution; and why critical security agencies had reportedly not received capital releases despite the worsening security crisis confronting the nation.
“These are not allegations from the opposition, they are grave constitutional questions raised by a distinguished senator of the ruling party,” he said.
Atiku added that if security agencies were denied the funds appropriated by law to procure equipment, strengthen intelligence, improve logistics and support operations, government could not escape responsibility for the consequences.
The former vice president said it was ironic that President Tinubu, who built much of his political identity on criticising former President Goodluck Jonathan over insecurity, now presides over what many describe as a “Sidon Look” Presidency, was now contented with issuing condolences after every massacre, instead of preventing the next one.
He said an ADC administration, under his leadership, would fundamentally reform Nigeria’s security architecture, and promised to ensure that every naira appropriated for national security was released promptly and accounted for.
He equally pledged restore intelligence-led policing, deploy modern surveillance technology, strengthen border security, improve inter-agency coordination, fully equip and motivate security personnel, and establish an effective community-based early warning system to stop attacks before they happen.
“Nigeria does not need a President who merely mourns the dead after every massacre. Nigeria needs a President who protects the living,” he said.