The cars, valued at N225m, were
purchased for the minister by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.
The Federal Government has begun
a manhunt for the whistleblower that broke the story of the two BMW armoured
cars bought for Aviation Minister, Ms. Stella Oduah.
The Director-General, NCAA,
Capt. Fola Akinkuotu, disclosed this at a press conference at the head
office of the Federal Ministry of Aviation in Abuja on Friday,
He said the Federal Government
was concerned about how the information got leaked to the public, noting that
whoever leaked the information committed a criminal offence. He explained
that the agency had begun moves to uncover the person[s] that leaked the
information to the public.
He said, “I am not saying that
this particular information should not be put in the public domain. But how it
was obtained is the concern. If somebody breaks into an office and makes copies
of official documents, then the break-in has become criminal.
“So we are in the process of
trying to find the source of this leakage and I am very concerned about it.
Because this information may look trivial but there are other information that
we have that are confidential and it is only fair for us to respect the
confidentiality of information. I am not saying that they broke into our
office, but they obtained the information illegally.”
The visibly terrified Akinkuotu
said he was stunned to see the documents in the open, stressing that the
information were leaked illegally.
He said he was “shell shocked
that government information and particularly information from the civil
aviation authority has gotten into public purview in an illegal manner. It is
criminal! However, what has been done has been done, but I think when such
information is gotten, you should have come to the agency to ask. We are not
shy to take your questions.”
Akinkuotu stated that Snowden of
the United States ran away after leaking confidential information,
adding, “He (Snowden) went on the run after putting such information in
the public domain. The sources of the leak I don’t know, but yesterday, I
issued a circular to all staff on this issue. I will read a little part of the
circular: ‘Without prejudice to the nature and the purpose of this act, you
should know that leakage and ultimate publication is a matter of great concern
to the authority.’
NCAA had purchased two vehicles
valued at a whopping $1.6m said to have been delivered to Oduah in August this
year. The armoured vehicles, BMW 760 Li, were bought from Coscharis
Motors Limited in Lagos.
An online news medium, SaharaReporters,
had reported on Tuesday that the armoured vehicles were delivered to the
minister in August.
The medium reported that
documents in its possession showed that the transaction for the purchase of the
two BMW cars started in June, but the request for the delivery of and payment
for them was fast-tracked between August 13 and 15, 2013.
The transaction involved the
NCAA, First Bank of Nigeria, and Coscharis Motors Limited, according to the
report.
The two black BMW 760 Li HSS
vehicles had chasis numbers WBAHP41050DW68032 and WBAHP41010DW68044, and were
reportedly delivered to the NCAA on August 13, 2013. They were received by two
store managers, F. Onoabhagbe and Y. A. Amzat, who is also the agency’s head of
transport.
Since the report, Nigerians
have expressed anger over the purchase with stakeholders
calling on the nation’s anti-corruption agencies to investigate the issue.
There were also reports that the
vehicles’ costs were grossly inflated and a waste of the nation’s scarce
resources especially in a sector that is poorly funded and which had recorded a
series of air crashes in recent times.
But the NCAA boss stated that
the purchase of the vehicles followed stipulated due process,
adding that the prices of the cars were high probably because it was bought
from a company which had no competitors in Nigeria.
The agency also said other
factors might have contributed the high price, but maintained that
the vehicles were purchased for operational purposes. Explaining what may have
made the vehicles expensive in Nigeria, Akinkuotu said three factors should be
considered.
He said, “First, each car that
you buy nowadays has a customised aspect to it and this may impact on the
price. The other factor is what I call the environmental situation. Yesterday,
a gentleman from Britain met me and said the fares in this country on British
Airways and Virgin Atlantic are high. And he wondered why the situation had
continued, but he said it was because Nigerians could afford it.
“So the other aspect in this
particular context is what I will call the monopolistic situation on these
cars. Coscharis, as far as I understand, is about the only guy that sells BMW
of this nature in Nigeria. If he is the only one selling, then you must buy
from him if you want the car and he can name the price. So those are factors
that may have resulted. But mind you, I am not holding brief for this.”
He went on, “I do not know how
much the cars cost and I cannot relate or answer the question on the actual
cost of these cars. But were they budgeted for? Yes.”
The DG said aviation was a
global industry and the NCAA, the regulator of the industry in Nigeria very
often played host to dignitaries from international civil aviation bodies.
He said it was internationally
customary to convey the minister and these visiting foreign dignitaries in
security vehicles whenever they are in Nigeria.
He said, “It must be noted that
during such visitations, the security of members of the delegation is the sole
responsibility of the host country. The vehicles are therefore in the pool of
the NCAA for these special assignments and are available at the NCAA office and
can be shown to you.”
Meanwhile, Nigerians have
continued to express their dissatisfaction with the agency’s action.
The External Relations Manager
for most automobile firms including CFAO Motors, Dr. Oscar Odiboh, said
the price of the new vehicles was outrageous, describing it as an
embarrassment to those operating in the nation’s automobile industry.
“It dents the image of the
automobile industry because we are being branded as people who fix ridiculous
prices for their products,” he said.
Also, the Executive Secretary,
Nigerian Auto Manufacturers Association, Mr. Arthur Madueke, said it was
needless to have ordered for armoured cars abroad when such facility was
available locally.
“One of our members, whose
factory is located in Ode Remo, Ogun State, has the competence to armour any
vehicle at competitive prices and has received the approval of necessary
authorities including the ministry of defence,” he said.
Also aviation experts are of the
opinion that the whole transaction was fraudulent and ridiculous.
President, Aviation Roundtable,
Captain Dele Ore, said that the prices quoted for the armoured vehicles were on
the ridiculous side.
He said, “By the information
that I have at my disposal, I can categorically say that a single armoured vehicle
cannot be more expensive than N40m. the amount of N225m which was quoted as the
prices of the two vehicles was definitely outrageous.
“Well, in my opinion, it is
fraud, the whole thing is just fraudulent, and it is rather unfortunate.”
Also, reacting to the issue, the
Assistant General Secretary, Airline Operators of Nigeria, Mr. Muhammed Tukur,
said that the N225m quoted for the procurement of the vehicles was exorbitant.
He expressed surprise that he
ministry officials could expect Nigerians to believe such lie adding that
it was important for the necessary government agencies to step in to address
the issue.
He said, “That price that they
have stated cannot be right, they have inflated the price. It is obvious that
there is something wrong somewhere, and we hope the relevant agencies such as
the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission will step into the matter and do a
thorough investigation.
“The fact remains that there is
a lot of corruption going on in the sector. Now, we are just talking about the
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, we have not yet talked about other agencies
such as the NEMA, FAAN, NIMET and others.
“All the funds that were said to
be spent on restructuring the facilities of the airports for instance, we
have not seen much to show for it, the Kano and Kaduna airports have been
abandoned, the terminals in the Lagos airport still leak during rains, toilets
are not working well, among other things. And so, corruption is entrenched in
the system.”
Meanwhile, the law firm of human
right activist and Lagos lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), has petitioned the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, urging it to investigate the Aviation
Minister, Stella Oduah for fraud and extortion.
In the petition signed by Samuel
Ogala, made available to Saturday PUNCH on Friday, the law firm described
Oduah’s case as an outrageous prodigal action.
The petition states, “Apart from
the fact that the said threat to the life of the minister was never reported to
the police, the extortion of the sum of N255m from the NCAA, a parastatal under
the Ministry of Aviation, is fraudulent in every material particular.
“Specifically, the said sum of
N255m was not appropriated by the National Assembly while the officials of the
NCAA who authorised the expenditure of the sum of N255m exceeded their approval
limit.”
Falana’s firm knocked the
minister for abuse of office and threatened to approach the court to compel
EFCC to investigate.’’
Source: Punch
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