The
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority on Thursday told the House of
Representatives Committee on Aviation that the Ministry of Aviation
approved the controversial purchase of the N255m bulletproof cars for Ms
Stella Oduah.
The Director of Aerodrome in the NCAA, Mr. Joyce Nkem-Akonam, made this known during the committee’s public sitting in Abuja.
Nkem-Akonam, who handled the
transaction as the acting managing director of the NCAA, had made
spirited efforts to defend the purchase.
He told the committee members that
since “Leased financing, not direct financing, was adopted to
procure the vehicles,” the agency breached no law.
When asked if leased financing was not
a commitment that the NCAA would still pay for the vehicles, he said
it did not mean that it was extra-budgetary spending.
Facing a barrage of questions from the committee members, he later said the NCAA got approval from the Aviation ministry.
But, the Bureau for Public Procurement
faulted him when it disputed the claim that the contract for the cars
followed due process.
An official of the BPP, who represented
the Director-General, Mr. Ayo Aderigbigbe, told the committee that no
ministry had powers to approve any expenditure above N100m.
“A ministerial tenders board can
approve expenditure of N100m and below, but if it is above N100m, it
must go before the Federal Executive Council,” he explained.
The BPP official also surprised the
committee members when he disclosed that the agency was never contacted
by the NCAA over the car purchase.
He said, “We have nothing to
forward to the committee on this matter. We have no information on the
purchase of the two vehicles or the contract in question.”
The Director-General of the NCAA, Capt.
Fola Akintuotu, had earlier told the committee that he was not in
charge of affairs when the transaction took place.
He said he assumed duties on August 14, after the expenditure had been done.
But there was a mild drama when the
committee asked him whether the earlier explanation of the minister’s
aide (Joe Obi) that the cars were bought because the life of Oduah was
in danger was correct.
“I can’t speak for the SA(Special Adviser) to the minister,” he responded.
Again, he was asked whether a minister was entitled to the type of protection the cars were meant to serve.
To this, he said, “I believe that is a hypothetical question and I cannot answer it.”
He wondered why Jonathan would engage
in a diversionary and exculpatory strategy of setting up a panel to
investigate the scandal, when there were statutory bodies empowered by
law to do so.
Mohammed said, ‘’There is
precedent on how to handle such a matter. In case President Jonathan has
forgotten, his then boss, President Umaru Yar’Adua(late), sacked
Adenike Grange and Gabriel Aduku, Minister of Health and Minister of
State for Health respectively, for spending part of the ministry’s
unspent budget.
“The Permanent Secretary and other
top officials of the ministry were also suspended when the issue broke
out. No panel was set up before this action was taken.”
Also, the TMG said it was shocked at
the shameful and embarrassing transaction and acquisition of the
armoured cars for Oduah.
It said it was even more shocking that
at a time like this when Nigerians had been calling on Jonathan to
sanction the minister, he found it comfortable to make her a leading
member of his entourage to Israel on pilgrimage.
The TMG, in a statement by its Chairman, Ibrahim Zikirullahi, and Publicity Secretary, Eddy Ezurike , said it was “not at all surprised at the rash response by the minister to the purported ‘query’ issued her by the President.”
It added, “Given our governance system, it may well be the person issuing the query is the same person providing answers.”
The TMG urged the anti-corruption
agencies in the country to quickly investigate “this financial and
executive recklessness” in the aviation sector
In Lagos, the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders described the probe panel as diversionary.
The Executive Chairman, CACOL, Mr. Debo
Adeniran, in a statement on Thursday, alleged that the panel was meant
to divert the attention of Nigerians from the issue at stake.
He said, “The panel is just another
attempt to sweep the scandal under the carpet. Nigerians now know
better that the probe panel is a way to douse the heat that has followed
the revelation of Oduah’s shenanigans in the Aviation sector.
“The panel itself is another way of
wasting the scarce resources and man-hour that could have been deployed
into doing something more meaningful. All these diversionary panels
make a mess of President Jonathan’s purported fight against corruption.”
Source: Punch Nigeria
