National Economic Council (NEC) yesterday defended decision of President Muhammadu Buhari to purchase fighter aircrafts from the United States of America worth $496 million without approval of the National Assembly. Addressing State House correspondents at the end of the NEC meeting in Abuja, Governor Abubakar Badaru Babur of Jigawa state, said the President’s decision to procure the aircraft was in the national interest. “We forget easily.
If you recall we have been battling with approval from America to buy these equipment since 2014. We have been begging Americans to sell this equipment to us. We tried Dubai they could not allow us because it is patented; there is another factory in Brazil, the Federal Government tried we couldn’t get. “Then luckily President Donald Trump said `is okay to buy.
’ So, we had to quickly paid the money for the equipment before they change their minds because there was also deadline, and this is state-to-state transaction and we are all here concern about security and then raising questions on how and manner on which you protect people – this is an emergency situation. “So, this thing has to be understood clearly and look at the situation at the fuller perspective not a narrow perspective.
The President did what he has to do to protect his people and there is what happened and you know something might just happen and then the Americans will say (no stop the sale) but we have paid already they have to supply,” he said.
The governor also told journalists that some states – Jigawa, Lagos, Taraba and Kwara – have updated the NEC on their agricultural activities, stressing that employment opportunities have also been created for youth in the sector. He said youth have been empowered in semi-mechanised farming scheme to boost agricultural production in the Jigawa state in particular.
