South Africa has said it will evolve a
legal framework with Nigeria to avert a situation where the Federal
Government’s funds for arms are seized in future. The South African Secretary for Defence
and Military Veterans, Dr. Sam Gulube, said this while fielding
questions from journalists shortly after the opening ceremony of the
Nigeria-South Africa Defence Industry inaugural seminar on Monday in
Abuja.
The South African Revenue Service seized
Nigeria’s $15m meant for arms purchase at Lanseria Airport, north-west
of Johannesburg, on September 5, 2014, but the money had yet to be
released almost two years after.
President Jacob Zuma of South Africa
had, while on a three-day state visit to Nigeria in March, stated that
the money would be released after all the investigations were concluded.
But Gulube, who led the South African
delegation to the seminar, explained that the “issue had been settled,”
adding that he would discuss the legal framework with his Nigerian
counterpart to guard against future recurrence.
“The issue has been settled, but to
avoid a future recurrence, I would hold a discussion with my
counterparts and look into the legal framework to ensure that seizure of
funds doesn’t recur,” he said.
Gulube, an apartheid era combatant, said
the seminar would help South Africa and Nigeria to identify tools to
develop to face today’s threats, stressing that he was in the country to
learn from Nigeria.
He stated, “This seminar would play
critical roles to ensure the two countries have peace and security so
they can have prosperity. The defence industry have great roles to play
in development and economic security and it is only through advancement
of defence technology that the two economies can grow and reduce
dependence on oil and other mineral resources.”
He lauded Nigeria’s leading roles during
his country’s struggle with apartheid, saying South Africa could not
have been where it was today without Nigeria’s support.
The defence secretary added that all
the people that fought for his country’s liberation received military
and academic trainings in Nigeria.
In his welcome address, the Permanent
Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Ambassador Danjuma Sheni, said the
seminar was holding at a time Africa was facing enormous security
challenges, including terrorism, food insecurity and displacement of
persons.
Sheni observed that Nigeria and South Africa represented the two main economic and military powers in Africa.
He added that to avoid conflict that
might arise from contention for influence on the continent by the two
countries, bilateral relationship must be based on cooperation,
consultation and confidence-building measures.
South Africa concluding process to return $15m Nigeria’s arms fund
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