Ex-NSA Monguno: How Cabal withheld funds Buhari approved for my office

Some funds approved for the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) under Babagana Monguno were withheld by the cabal, according to the occupant of the NSA office from 2015 to 2023.

Monguno said this in the book:  ‘From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari’.

The book, a biography of the late President, was written by Charles Omole and launched at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, on Monday.

In the book, Monguno narrated some of the challenges he encountered while in office and how those challenges affected the nation’s security.

He traced the problem to a recommendation he made based on the intelligence he got from the Commander of the Presidential air fleet.

According to him, Commander of the presidential air fleet raised concerns that supplier of the fleet was under investigation and the development posed a security risk if indicted.

He said it was based on this that he wrote to Buhari and recommended a change of supplier, disclosing that the president agreed with him and approved it.

Monguno said the development unearthed entrenched interests within the presidency.

He said it was the late Abba Kyari, who was Chief of Staff to the president, that first challenged him, asking, “Why did you do this?”

According to Monguno, Mamman Daura, Buhari’s nephew, was also displeased by the decision, which he described as an injustice to the fuel supplier.

“The Minister of Finance, who owed loyalty to Mamman Daura, was co-opted to withhold funds from the NSA office even after Buhari’s approval. Buhari and Nigerians were both victims of the Cabal that enriched itself beyond measure,”  he said

He said starving the NSA office of funds weakened the country’s security architecture and effectively blinded the state.

Monguno stated that the funds inherited from his predecessor had been exhausted, while subscriptions for critical systems and technical partnerships with foreign agencies had lapsed.

He said the surveillance infrastructure around the villa was maintained with funds from the NSA’s budget, but approvals to keep it current were repeatedly stalled.

Monguno said even after Buhari approved the appointment, a counter-note from a gatekeeper undermined the decision.

“You do not need a conspiracy to weaken a system; you only need petty sabotage repeated often enough,” he added.

Daily Trust had reported how Aisha, widow of the late president, narrated her own encounters in the book.

According to the former First Lady, rumours within the Presidential Villa once made her late husband suspect that she planned to harm him.

She said the development disrupted his feeding routine and contributed to the health crisis that kept him away from office for months in 2017.

According to the book, Mrs Buhari said gossip and fear mongering within Aso Rock briefly created mistrust between her and the President.

She said it caused him to alter his personal habits, including locking his room and missing meals.

The former first lady said the disruption of a carefully managed nutrition schedule marked the beginning of his illness.

Mrs Buhari explained that for years she had personally supervised Buhari’s meals and supplements, a routine she said was necessary to support his health.

“This is given his long history of nutritional challenges. Buhari’s illnesses were neither mysterious nor the result of poisoning”, she said.

The book stated that after relocating from Kaduna to the Presidential Villa, responsibility for Buhari’s feeding routine shifted to official handlers, leading to delays, skipped meals and the suspension of prescribed supplements.

According to Aisha in the book, for nearly a year, the President did not take lunch regularly, adding that the breakdown in dietary management weakened him significantly.

The book also detailed claims by Mrs Buhari of a climate of mistrust within the Presidency, including alleged surveillance and the bugging of private conversations, which she said contributed to anxiety during his final years.

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