October 19, 2013 by Rasheed Bisiriyu Udeme Ekwere Kunle Falayi, Gbenro Adeoye, Bose Obasa Okechukwu Nnodim, Abuja
Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah
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 cars, valued at N225m, were purchased for the minister by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.
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.’’
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