Report on crashed Associated aircraft forged —Senators •Summon aviation minister over incessant crashes •We didn’t hire aircraft —Ondo govt - TRIBUNE

• Written by  Dapo Falade and Yinka Oladoyinbo
• Wednesday, 09 October 2013 00:00

SENATOR Eyinnaya Abaribe, on Tuesday, disclosed that the report on the  Associated Airline aircraft, which was submitted to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), was forged.
Speaking at the plenary session of the Senate, he added that “there is a systemic problem over how the regulators are doing their jobs. We need to go beyond the surface dressing.”
Also speaking at the session, Senator Smart Adeyemi said the ill-fated aircraft was on a test flight and was, by law, not expected to carry passengers, except the pilot and engineers.
This is just as the Senate concluded that the country may continue to witness more air crashes unless those in charge of the aviation sector were held responsible and accountable for their negligences.
The upper chamber also summoned the Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah and heads of parastatal agencies in the ministry over the increasing air disasters experienced in the country in recent times.
Oduah and others would be appearing before the Senate on October 22, having adjourned for two weeks to enable various committees to complete their oversight duties, in anticipation of the 2014 budget.
The position of the Senate was sequel to a motion moved by the chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Hope Uzodinma, on the crash in Lagos, last Thursday, of the Associated Airline aircraft, bearing the remains of the former governor of Ondo State, Chief Olusegun Agagu.
The Senate expressed worries that the country had witnessed seven fatal air mishaps and averted two within two and a half years.
Stating that the increasing air crashes in the country since 2011 was an indication of deep-rooted systemic problem, the upper legislative chamber mandated its relevant committees to identify the inherent lapses in the operational laws and regulations guiding the aviation industry, with a view to averting future occurrences.
Most of the senators who spoke at the plenary session on Tuesday, attributed the increasing air disaster in the country to corruption and failure of the appropriate authorities to implement reports of investigations on past air crashes.
Senator Adeyemi blamed the incident on corruption, adding that “I was in Lagos after the crash and, in the course of my stay, I interacted with my colleagues in the media and I was surprised to gather that the plane crashed as a result of corruption.
“I gathered that the plane was meant to be on a test flight and, as such, it was to shuttle between Lagos and Akure without carrying passengers, except the pilot and engineers. But someone thought it wise to pick passengers to make quick business.
“There is no amount of money that can help if we don’t tackle corruption. We need to know who bought the aircraft and who is managing it.
“The ongoing renovation at the airports is good, but the problem is management and regulation. The truth is that there is corruption in the aviation industry.
“We must be courageous enough to speak the truth. Our chambers would do the county good to unravel the owners of the Associated Airline.”
Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, said the aviation sector was in a state of emergency and expressed the need to question the activities of the minister and heads of parastatal agencies, especially with regards to safety regulations.
For Senator Ita Enang, the aviation ministry had only concentrated on infrastructure and aesthetics at the airports, with little attention paid to the state of the aircraft flying the Nigerian airspace.
“Most aircraft flying in Nigeria are not allowed to fly in other countries. The regulators are more interested in awarding contracts than on the safety of passengers,” he said.
Senator Bukola Saraki said until the regulators were held responsible and accoutable for their negligence, nothing could change in the sector.
He added that all reports of previous investigations must be implemented, while advising that the Senate committee set up to investigate the incident must be empowered to be able to conduct a third party investigation.
Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi blamed the recent incident and several others before it on poor aviation regulations and enforcement.
“What we are suffering from is the regulation. The duty of the government is to regulate the industry to ensure safety in the air and that is what we are not getting.
“There is nowhere in the world where we have this level of disaster. Yet, we have a minister telling us about the safety of aviation sector and the construction of terminals.
“We do not need anybody to make us know that due diligence is required. We must ask ourselves questions in the Senate about our oversight duties and monitoring of regulatory agencies. If not, we will continue to make mockery of the red parliament,” he said.
Senator Solomon Ewuga called for a better understanding between government agencies saddled with the responsibilities of aviation safety and the legislature.
He said, going by the report of the aviation committee from various incidents, there was a wide gulf between both bodies, especially with regards to aviation regulations and maintenance operations.
Ewuga, therefore, urged the committee to be thorough in its investigation with greater emphasis on professionalism and training pattern of aviation regulators.
While Senator Phillip Aduda recommended that people saddled with aircraft certification were brought to book, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha was of the view that there should be a law banning the importation of tokunbo aircraft, as it was being proposed for automobiles.
In his reaction, Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the session, commended his colleagues for transcending ethnic and political divides in their contributions.
He also blamed incessant plane crashes in the country on the regulators of the industry and maintained that so long as Nigerians did not take responsibilities for their actions, the Senate had no option but to summon the Minister of Aviation and heads of its agencies.
“The issue is that in some places, when something like this happens, people take responsibilities and resign, but because such things do not happen here, we will keep repeating ourselves.
“The problem here is the safety standard and not just the plane, because the standards are same everywhere. There is the need to ensure that those responsible for regulating the industry do so,” he said.
‘We didn’t hire crashed aircraft’
The Ondo State government, on Tuesday, reacted to the  claim that it hired the aircraft, which crash-landed last week Thursday in Lagos, while conveying the body of Dr Agagu to Akure.
A statement by the state Commissioner for Information, Mr Kayode Akinmade, in Akure, said the government’s reaction would not have been necessary at the time the state and families were still mourning those who lost their lives in the crash, but for inaccurate media reports.
It explained that its determination to give the former governor a befitting state burial made it to set up a burial committee, which met regularly with the family of the deceased to arrive at a burial programme.
At one of the meetings, the statement said,  the issue of the transportation of the body from Lagos to Akure was discussed.
“The committee deferred to the family’s insistence that the body be moved to Akure by air. The family, thereafter, introduced Mr Tunji Okusanya (now deceased) of MIC Funeral as the official undertaker, who would make necessary arrangements regarding the movement of the body and the funeral.
“Thereafter, the MIC boss forwarded the names of various airlines through an e-mail message to the committee, namely: Aero Contractor; OAS Helicopters; Chachangi; Arik; Dana and IRS as operators that have been contacted.
“It was indicated in his message that IRS was not available for conveying human remains; Dana aircraft had gone for maintenance and Arik does not fly the Akure route. He, therefore, suggested Chachangi as the best offer,” the statement added.
It further indicated that it was neither the wish nor the prerogative of government to indicate any preference for a particular airline, stressing that the interface with MIC, at the instance of the family, was necessary for facilitation of payment.
It added that “at no time was Associated Airline mentioned in the course of transaction.”
Stating that the government made the clarifications against its wish, the statement stressed that “this is definitely not the time for this, as we are still mourning,” adding that “it is pathetic losing any soul in the course of paying homage to our former governor, particularly government officials and other bread winners of their families, including the Managing Director of MIC, his son, and other workers of his company.”
The state government thanked the Federal Government for ordering a thorough investigation into the crash, in order to prevent recurrence in the future, while imploring the team of investigators to leave no stone unturned in the course of their investigation.
“We wish to place on record, our appreciation of the active and timely involvement of the Lagos State government, through its Emergency Agency, as well as Federal Emergency agencies. We thank the management and staff of the Lagos State Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) and other medical facilities who came to the rescue of the survivors,” the statement added.
Emergency landing: Kabo Airlines suspends pilot
Kabo Airlines has suspended the pilot who flew the plane that did an emergency landing at the Sokoto Airport, last week Friday.
The Director-General of NCAA, Captain Fola Akinkuotu, disclosed this in Abuja, during an interactive session with newsmen.
The Kabo plane was conveying 512 passengers from Kano Airport, en route Saudi Arabia, when it had to do an emergency landing at the Sokoto Airport, because its tyres were deflated.
The pilot also did not comply with the directive given by air traffic controller on duty that the plane should land on runway 08, but rather diverted to another runway.