Saraki denies role in alleged arms deal fraud

Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki has dissociated himself from the N60bn arms deal involving the immediate past National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd).

Saraki in a statement by his Special Adviser (Media and Publicity), Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu, stated that contrary to reports, he has never had anything to do with purchase of security equipment because in his entire political career he never served in any committee or body which has any link with Defence or national security.

Olaniyonu said in the statement that “As a member of the Seventh Senate, Dr. Saraki was not a member of any of the committees which have oversight function on the Ministry of Defence or the intelligence and national security apparatus. If he was tagged the leader of the opposition to the Jonathan administration, how then will he be privy to Arms purchases and have the influence to blackmail any government agency or institution over the release of funds.

“The Senate President would like to alert members of the public to the new plot by an online media outfit to tarnish his reputation as the medium and its sponsors pursue the singular objective of removing him from the office of the Senate President, an objective they have since failed to achieve within and outside the National Assembly”

“This time around, the online media outfit and its sponsors chose to drag the Senate President to this reigning and current issue of arms purchase by insinuating that he once blackmailed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to give him and other Senators the sum of N250 million as a way of covering up the arbitrary withdrawal by the NSA from the security fund approved by the former President.