Shehu Sani, a former senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District has criticised President Bola Tinubu for his decision not to investigate military spending under former President Muhammadu Buhari – led administration.
The New Daily Prime earlier reported that President Tinubu during his inaugural media chat on Monday stated that he would not investigate military expenditures under the Buhari administration.
Reacting to the issue, Sani, a human rights activist, while appearing on Channels TV’s Politics Today ,described Tinubu’s stance as contradictory, particularly when compared to his administration’s probe of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under the embattled former governor, Godwin Emefiele.
He further argued that failing to scrutinize military expenditures was like endorsing corruption.
He stated, “When leading a nation facing critical challenges like ours, it is imperative to review past actions to recover looted public funds. While the CBN’s past activities have been investigated, it’s puzzling that the same approach is not being applied to military spending during Buhari’s tenure.”
He noted that Tinubu’s response during a recent media chat, where the President expressed a preference for moving forward rather than revisiting past military expenditures, undermines his stance on accountability.
“It’s contradictory to probe the CBN’s past but not the defence sector. If credible evidence of corruption exists, the government should act to recover public funds. By refusing to do so, it sends a message that corruption is tolerated,” Sani added.
He further stressed that there was the need to hold the President accountable for his administration’s policies and the performance of his cabinet.
“Tinubu has introduced significant economic reforms that are causing hardship for Nigerians, but such reforms are rarely popular. Regardless, he must take responsibility for the actions of his government and ministers,” Sani said.
