$43m peace-keeping money not pocketed by Generals — Army

$43m peace-keeping money not pocketed by Generals — Army

The Nigerian Army has denied the diversion of $43m meant for the settlement of officers and men on peace-keeping missions by some army generals.

The army made the clarification in reaction to an online media claim that the amount, which has been set aside for peace-keeping had been pocketed by the unnamed generals in the Nigerian Army.

The Army in the clarification posted in its website on Sunday, made it clear that there had never been any case of embezzlement of funds meant for peace keeping operations.

The army claimed that though some of its officers and men who had returned from Peace Support Operations had not been fully remunerated, it had never recorded any case of embezzlement of funds meant for such operations.

“Perhaps if the authors of the petition had gone a little further towards due diligence, it would have found out that the Nigerian Army has never in any way denied that some troops who had concluded their tour of duty in some Peace Support Operations were yet to be fully remunerated. Nevertheless, there is no case of embezzlement as alleged in the report,” the army said.

“It is noteworthy that the long process of streamlining the procedure for securing funds for Peace Support Operations goes beyond the Nigerian military establishment. It involves the procedures and protocols of mission-sponsoring agencies such as the United Nations, African Union and ECOWAS among others.

“It is therefore curious that this misleading information is coming at a time when the major issues are being resolved and payment has actually commenced on the basis of the order of entry or exit of the various Nigerian Contingents (NIBATTS) into the Peace Support Operations.

“It is thus expedient to state that it is not in the character of the Nigerian Army to toe the path of embezzlement as the said anonymous petition or its publishers have attempted to ascribe to the leadership of the Nigerian Army or the military as an institution.