As another controversy erupts over the allegation that the Inspector General of Police bought two Sports Utility Vehicles for the wife of the President, one of the President’s spokesperson has clarified his position.
Senator Isah Misau who has been engaged in a running feud with the IGP, Ibrahim Idris, had told the Senate Ethics Committee on Wednesday that he had papers that show that the police chief bough to vehicles for Mrs Aisha Buhari through her ADC.
Mrs Buhari and the IGP have since denied the claims with the former tweeting, “I still use my personal cars” on Thursday.
During an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari skipped the question about the issue by stating that it wasn’t his job and he, therefore, didn’t have the facts.
When asked about the matter, Mr Shehu declared that he had been ambushed before going on to say, “I don’t work in the office of the wife of the President, I am not aware of these issues.”
He said although he had heard about the matter earlier on in the programme, “the Office of the Wife of the President has a spokesperson – she has a little establishment that is taking care of her own. I believe they are in the best position to discuss these elements.”
Meanwhile, the IGP has rejected Senator Misau’s claims, describing them as outright falsehood.
A statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood, said the claims were “misleading, unfounded, a deliberate attempt to misinform the public and drag the name of the Wife of the President and Commander in Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mrs Aisha Buhari and that of the Inspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim K. Idris into a controversy”.
It added, “It is pertinent to state that at no time did the Wife of the President and Commander in Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mrs Aisha Buhari requested directly or indirectly for vehicles for her use from the Inspector General of Police and no vehicle whether Jeep or SUV has ever been given for her personal use.”
The IGP, however, explained that he is Constitutionally empowered to deploy and “control of the entire Operations of the Force including allocation of Police vehicles for operational use throughout the country”.
According to the statement, based on his powers, but contrary to Senator Misau’s claims, two police vehicles were allocated to police personnel in the convoy of the wife of the President.
“It is within the powers of the Inspector General of Police as stated above that when on the 17th January, 2017, SP Sani M Baba –Inna, the ADC “Wife of the President” Federal Republic of Nigeria requested for two vehicles for Police Personnel in the convoy of Wife of the President for convoy movement and security purposes, two Police Vehicles (i) A Toyota Sienna Bus with Reg. No. NPF 2406D (ii) A Toyota Hiace Bus with Reg. No. NPF 3363D were approved by the Inspector General of Police to the ADC “Wife of the President” SP Sani M Baba –Inna for the purposes requested and not to the person of the Wife of the President or for her personal use as alleged by Misau,” the statement read in part.
