Nigerians should trust Buhari with $1 billion to fight Boko Haram – Masari

The Governor of Katsina State, Aminu Masari, has said that the controversy sparked over the decision of Nigeria’s 36 governors to allow the federal government use $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account to fight Boko Haram insurgency was unnecessary.

Masari stated this on Monday in Tahoua, Niger Republic while speaking with State House correspondents.


He said going by the antecedents of President Muhammadu Buhari, it was not possible for the money to be diverted.

“I think it is controversial. People may be remembering that during the last administration when excess crude money was given to members of the armed forces to procure arms and ammunition, the money ended up in the pocket of some highly placed individuals.

“First of all, the money that we are giving is not up to half of what was given earlier, but we know now that with the current president it is impossible for anybody to divert this money except for what it is earmarked for,” he said.

He also said it was important not to lose sight of the dangers posed by insecurity, which, he said, was “everybody’s business.”

“It is very important for us to appreciate security is everybody’s business and we need to fight this situation head on.

“One billion dollars is not much for security. If we have more, we can give more to make sure that the country is well secured,” he said.

The Katsina Governor represented President Buhari as head of a four-person delegation at an event to commemorate the 59th anniversary of the country’s attainment of Republican status.

Those in the delegation included the governor of Borno, Kashim Shettima; the governor of Yobe, Ibrahim Geidam; and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Khadijah Ibrahim.