Revealed: Why Buhari Fired Service Chiefs

By Amos Igbebe
The Service Chiefs recently fired by President Muhammadu Buhari may not be unconnected with the officers’ denial of his certificate being in custody of the Nigeria Army during the 2015 electioneering campaigns.
A police source in Delta State, who declined to state his name and rank for security reasons, Friday, revealed that the sack of the service chiefs by the President was the offshoot of the army’s comments regarding the whereabouts of his West African School Certificate as the campaign became tense from both the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressive Congress (APC).
During the campaign preceding the March 28 Presidential election, the PDP under immediate past President Goodluck Jonathan, had accused Buhari of campaigning for the office of the President without the possession of a school certificate.
Hence, Buhari told Nigerians that his certificate was in the custody of the Nigeria Army Headquarters but on investigation, it was revealed by the army headquarters that Buhari’s certificate was not in the custody of the army, leaving bewildered Nigerians wondering on the credibility of Buhari for the Presidential race.
The officer said Buhari would not have fired the service chiefs if they had agreed that his certificate was in the Army headquarters, a development which would have silenced the agitating Nigerians.
The officer also accused the police force, especially those in the accounts and finance department, of being in complicity with the Central Bank of Nigeria and other high ranking officers in the financial sector to defraud the police officers of their due entitlement.
The source alleged that the accounts department at the headquarters has two vouchers for accounts, one direct from the Central Bank of Nigeria, containing the exact salary structure for the officers which is higher than the amount paid to them, the other is the fabricated one which contains the reduction in the salary of the police officers.
The source said high ranking officers and the CBN are aware of the deal but because the senior officers and CBN have mutual benefit from the fraudulent act, it is impossible to track down the illicit act and bring the perpetrators to justice so that officers could receive their actual salaries.
It added that President Buhari had ordered the police to pay the officers their actual salaries so that the police officers could be well taken care of and perform their duties optimally.
The officer said the coming of Buhari to the office of the President had, in many ways, transformed the police force, saying many irregularities in the force are being corrected by the President.
The source added the poor remuneration being paid to members of the force was the cause of corrupt practices among the police.
It called members of the force to allow President Buhari reform the force so as to boost the security status of Nigeria.