Abuja – The Federal Government says the report of the Presidential Committee on the Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement in the Armed Forces (2007-2015) is not doctored.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Friday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, dismissed insinuation in certain quarters that the report was doctored as untrue.
The statement was signed by the Special Adviser to the Minister, Mr Segun Adeyemi.
The minister explained that what had been released so far was the report of the audit covering the period 2011 to 2015.
He added that the committee would commence the audit of procurement from 2007 to 2010 as soon as the necessary documents were available.
“When the documents regarding procurement from 2007 to 2010 are available and scrutinised, the committee will then issue its report on that.
“The audit is being done on phases, and the report that was released on Thursday is the third of such,’’ he said.
Mohammed assured that the federal government’s anti-corruption fight was non-discriminatory and called on Nigerians to keep an open mind as events unfold.
“No one should attempt to distract from the seriousness of the issues involved in this audit of defence equipment procurement,’’ he urged.
The minister noted that with more than N185.8 billion and 685.3 million dollar spent on procurement and operations within the period, the irregularities in the awards denied the military from getting value for money.
He emphasised that the corruption in the defence sector had very serious consequences for the country.
