I Won’t Speak On Arms Scandal Now – Jonathan

Former president Goodluck Jonathan has said he won’t be
speaking on the current $2.1bn arms scam now because the matter is in court. Speaking
at Geneva Press Club on Security, and Development in Africa, the former
President said he would not like to comment on the arms probe matter now
because his comment could affect witnesses and the judicial proceeding that had
been initiated by the current administration.

He said: “I would not like to comment now because the matter
is in court. I cannot comment. Definitely, I will speak. My Comment now may
affect witnesses and the judicial process.

“When I was President, I tried to build institutions like
the Judiciary and separation of power and the electoral bodies. I should not be
the one undermining the process.” Continue…

The former President fielded questions on a host of issues
such as the Chibok Girls, Boko Haram the economy and corruption and also spoke
on why he did not challenge his electoral defeat in court.

Pressed to comment on the huge amounts of money allegedly
embezzled by some members of his administration, the former President said: “I
have an idea about some of the corruption cases you are talking about. The
amount being mentioned in some cases are so huge, sometimes people think I was
Nigeria’s President since independence. Sometimes, people just bandy figures. I
remember somebody said we lost $49 billion in 18 months.

‘’The same man who made the allegation reduced the figure to
12 billion. I got forensic experts to probe the books of NNPC to ascertain the
veracity of the allegation. I even remember asking the German Chancelor who
said if that amount of money was missing in her country, it would be a big
issue.

‘’The truth of the matter is that if we lose such amount of
money within 18 months as the allegation said, the country will collapse.’’