Fayose: There should be a shake-up in the military

Ayodele Fayose, governor of Ekiti state, has accused the military of taking advantage of the anti-insurgency war to create “fake defence contracts” for their personal interest.

In a statement by Lere Olayinka, his special assistant on public communications and new media, Fayose said there ought to be a periodic change in the military.

He said without the reshuffle of officers, they would become “institutions to themselves”.

“As revealed by Transparency International, fight against Boko Haram has become a cash cow for some top military officers and corrupt politicians in the Buhari’s government, with the creation of fake defence contracts and laundering the proceeds often laundered abroad in the UK, US and elsewhere,” Fayose said.

“The TI went further to state that the military is left without vital equipment, insufficiently trained, low in morale and under-resourced.

“The federal government must, therefore, address the widespread corruption in the fight against Boko Haram as revealed by the TI and also see to the welfare of the military personnel involved in the fight.

“The government must let the people know the situation on ground so that genuine assistance can be offered.

“There should also be a periodic change in military personnel so that officers don’t become institutions to themselves.”

He also alleged a possible arranged release of some Chibok girls by the federal government to divert attention of Nigerians and give the impression that it was making progress in the fight against the insurgents.

He had said on Sunday that the war against the group was far from over, flaying the claims of the military that the sect has been “technically defeated”.

He said this after the sect ambushed oil workers that had gone for an exploration near Lake Chad.

He described the United States “Country Report on Terrorism 2016” and the Transparency International Report as a confirmation of his earlier position that the federal government lied to Nigerians that Boko Haram was technically defeated.

“With over 120 Nigerians killed by the Boko Haram insurgents in Borno state last month alone, it is necessary for the federal government to face the reality that it has a very long walk to victory in the fight against the insurgents,” he said.

“This report by the US government has further lent credence to earlier revelation by the Transparency International (TI) that despite President Muhammadu Buhari government’s anti-corruption fight, corruption in the military is weakening Nigeria’s efforts to battle to battle Boko Haram.

“The report is also a confirmation that the SSS has abandoned its core responsibility of intelligence gathering and turned itself into the instrument of political oppression, invading judges residences in the night.

“The government cannot keep telling the public that Boko Haram had been decimated and the same Boko Haram was able to kill over 120 people in just one state in one month.

“Few hours ago, the insurgents invaded a community in Madagali local government in Adamawa state, killing more than 10 people and sacking the entire community.

“The truth, like I said two days ago, is that the battle is not over yet. In fact, it is raging fiercer than ever before. The gory killing of the oil workers confirms this. The wanton destruction of lives and property all over the place by Boko Haram also testifies to this fact.”