The Abubakar Bukola Saraki Media Office has described the Buhari Media Office’s (BMO) statement issued earlier today (Monday) to downplay the role the Saraki- led Eighth National Assembly played in persuading the US to sell military equipment to Nigeria for the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency in 2017 as “a mere revisionist antic which portrays the group as an empty propaganda machine whose members lack substance and simple understanding of the American system.
The Abubakar Bukola Saraki Media Office in its response to a BMO statement titled “Tucano Jets: Saraki Lied, Actually Wanted to Impeach Buhari on the Purchase,” retorted that the Buhari propaganda machine only displayed ignorance in all of its claims and that the members who signed the statement, particularly the duo of Niyi Akinsiju and Cassidy Madueke, either have no respect for facts or have a limited understanding of public policy.
A statement signed by Yusuph Olaniyonu, the head of the Abubakar Bukola Saraki Media Office and made available to Naija News on Monday, the former Senate President explained that the United States refused to sell military equipment to Nigeria because the country was classified as one of those countries whose military violated citizens’ rights and thus was in constant violation of the Leahy law.
The statement from the Saraki camp titled ‘Tucano Jets: BMO’s Revisionist Antics Depict It As Empty Propaganda Machine’ further revealed that Section 362 of Title 10 of the United States Code, also known as Leahy’s law, prohibits the United States from providing equipment, training, or other assistance to a foreign security force if the Secretary of Defense has credible information that such a force has committed a Government Violation of Human Rights. 
Part of the statement reads: Unlike Nigeria, particularly under the current government, where the legislature is treated with contempt, the Americans would not have set aside the restriction on the sale of military equipment imposed under an extant law without a guarantee from the Congress. At every point when it was needed, the Senate under Saraki gave support to the transaction and guaranteed to the visiting Congressmen that it would intensify oversight over the military to ensure there was no repeat of violation of citizens’ rights. We urge the public to also read the statement issued by Saraki on December 29, 2017, as published by Daily Post titled “Boko Haram: Saraki lauds US government for fighter jets.
“On the claims that there was an impeachment attempt on Buhari for granting anticipatory approval for the payment of $496,374,470 without legislative approval or any budgetary provision, there is no doubt that the act was a grave violation of the law and that no responsible legislature would ignore that infraction. Yet, contrary to the claims by the revisionists in BMO, the point of order raised by Sen. Mathew Urhoghide to discuss the infraction was not allowed for discussion by the same Saraki in other to save the President any embarrassment. We refer members of the public to the Punch newspaper story on the Senator session published on April 25, 2018, with the headline “Senators fault Buhari’s $496 Tucano aircraft purchase without due process.
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