On Wednesday, the Federal Government of Nigeria provided a justification for the approval of an amount totaling N1,145,000,000.00 for the purchase of automobiles for the Niger Republic.
Some people are questioning why such a large sum of money should be given to the neighbouring country of Niger Republic when public universities in Nigeria have been closed for approximately five months as a result of the government's inability to meet the demands of staff.
This has caused outrage among some people, who are angry that the Federal Government is being so generous to the neighbouring country.
The controversial policy was brought to light by David Hundeyin, who is a prominent figure in the world of social media influencers.
When asked to confirm the reports, the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, argued that even though Nigerians have the right to question the approval, President Muhammadu Buhari, who approved the purchase, also has the right to make his own assessment on situations and act accordingly.
She said this in response to a question about whether or not Nigerians have the right to question the approval.
In a response to questions posed at the conclusion of the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council, or FEC, which was chaired by President Buhari and held in the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the Minister stated that Nigeria adheres to a policy that encourages it to assist its neighbours in improving their capacity to combat insecurity.
According to her, Nigeria has on numerous occasions provided support to her neighbours, and she went on to say that the donation was made to boost the capacity of the Niger Republic to preserve security.
She stated that it is the President's prerogative to gain access to any information that is deemed to be in the nation's best interest.
In her statement, she maintained that the President had the right to make decisions that were in the best interest of Nigeria, but she said that "this was not the first time the country was proving such interventions to her neighbours."
"Let me just say that over the course of time, Nigeria has been required to offer support to its neighbours, particularly the immediate neighbours, in order to increase the capacity of those nations to secure themselves in relation to us.
It is not the first time that Nigeria has helped Niger Republic, Cameroon, or Chad; in fact, it is not even the second time.
"The President will conduct an analysis in order to determine what is necessary based on the requests made by their Presidents. Requests of this nature are granted, and the necessary interventions are carried out.
"It is to increase their capability to safeguard their countries, particularly in relation to security and also with regard to Nigeria."
She continued by saying, "Nigerians have the rights to ask questions, but equally the President has the obligation to make an evaluation of what is in the best interest of the country, and I cannot challenge the choice personally. Nigerians have the rights and the President has the responsibilities."
I have already stated that this is not the first time that this has happened and that Nigeria as a country has offered assistance to our neighbours. It is in Nigeria's best advantage to proceed in this manner.
It was rumoured that the President of the United States gave the Republic of Niger permission to purchase approximately ten Toyota Land Cruiser automobiles, but the President did not disclose the reason for this permission.
The document that was made public by the influential member of the media demonstrated that the president gave his approval to the distribution of the fund on February 22 of this year.
IFO Kaura Motors Nig. Limited has been given the responsibility of fulfilling the order to supply 10 Toyota Land Cruisers as part of the contract.