Some stakeholders in the aviation industry and
civil society groups have called on the nation’s anti-corruption agencies to
investigate the purchase of two bulletproof vehicles for the Minister of
Aviation, Mrs Stella Oduah.
The vehicles valued at a whopping $1.6m(about
N225m) were said to have been delivered to Oduah in August by the Nigerian
Civil Aviation Authority.
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Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah
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But the aviation industry stakeholders and the
groups, in separate interviews with our correspondents on Thursday, said their
calls for a probe were necessary in order to identify and prosecute those
behind the controversial deal.
The aviation stakeholders are the Airline
Operators of Nigerian and Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of
Nigeria.
AON, through its Assistant General Secretary, Mr.
Muhammed Tukur, described the purchase of the bulletproof cars as unfortunate,
saying it showed the high level of corruption in Nigeria .
It said, “This shows how bad things have gone
in this country; that the minister has admitted to receiving the cars from the
NCAA reveals that they do not care for the people of this country.
“We can see that all these people and parastatals
use their offices to siphon funds for anything they want. We think there is no
other option but for her (Oduah) to resign her appointment as the aviation
minister.
“Also, we call on the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission to thoroughly investigate the issue, because, some of us had
foresight of these things, and we know that there are more coming up soon.”
The ATSSSAN said the ‘necessary government
agencies’ should not hesitate to prosecute anyone found to have played a role in
the purchase of the bulletproof cars.
“We have government agencies that can look into
such issues as this such as the EFCC. So, these agencies should look into the
matter, and if they find out that it is indeed true, they should take the
appropriate action,” its National President, Mr. Ben Okewu, told one of our
correspondents.
Also, WACI, through its Executive Director, Dr.
Joe Okei-Odumakin, argued that the procurement of the bulletproof vehicles
showed the level of culture of impunity in the country.
It therefore called on the EFCC and other
anti-graft agencies to conduct a holistic investigation into the issue with a
view to prosecuting those found culpable in the Aviation ministry and the
NCAA.
It said, “If it is true that the NCAA bought the
said bulletproof cars for that amount, because it is not the prerogative of the
NCAA to do so, it shows the impunity in the society.
“Impunity is on the rise in this country; people
do whatever they like.
“There should be a painstaking investigation of
the NCAA and the ministry and anybody found culpable should be prosecuted to
serve as a deterrent to others. The EFCC and other anti-corruption agencies
should ensure that the matter is investigated thoroughly.”
On its part, CACOL noted that Oduah, in order
to satisfy her ostentatious lifestyle, had by accepting the cars compromised
the safety of Nigerians.
Its Executive Chairman, Debo Adeniran, said, “
When the minister asked NCAA to buy her bulletproof cars worth $1.6m because
of alleged threats to her life. Where did she expect them to get the money?
“She expected them to compromise standard of
course. It is now clear that the frequent air accidents are products of
corruption and incompetence in our aviation sector.”
It called on the anti-graft agencies to
“investigate the matter and prosecute anyone found to have abused their
office.”
Also, a former member of the House of
Representatives, Mr. Uche Onyeagucha, said the amount involved in the
purchase of the cars for Oduah was beyond the approval limit of the minister
and the NCAA.
This, according to him, calls for finding out
if a request for the purchase of the vehicles was forwarded to the Federal
Executive Council or not.
Onyeagucha said the number of past and present
political office holders in the country using bulletproof cars was
outrageous.
He urged Nigerian leaders to learn from the
Mexico experience where most of the people using bulletproof cars had been
killed.
The PUNCH learnt in Abuja that the NCAA
also spent millions of naira on 13 Prado jeeps and 21 Corolla
cars for its directors and general managers.
One of our correspondents gathered that the
jeeps were bought for the directors and the corolla cars for the
general managers.
A senior official of the agency who pleaded for
anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the press on the issue,
admitted that the purchase of the cars and jeeps was an anomaly.
He however said it was a practice that was not
confined to the aviation ministry alone.
The source said, “I think that during the course
of the purchase of the cars that the management decided to also get the
bulletproof cars for the minister. However, some of the cars have not been given
to their owners. They are still parked at the car lots.”
One of our correspondents gathered that some
members of staff who felt they might be left out of the car bonanza leaked to
the press, the information which was originally designed to be a petition to the
EFCC.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the NCAA,
Mr. Fan Ndubuoke, confirmed that he was aware of the purchase of some cars by
the authority.
He, however, declined comments when asked to name
the beneficiaries and whether the agency was under any obligation to buy
vehicles for the minister despite the fact that the ministry had its own
budget.
The 2013 Budget of Aviation ministry revealed
that there was no provision for the purchase of cars. About N4.2bn was budgeted
for the maintenance of motor vehicles, transport and equipment; N1.2bn for the
purchase of trucks and N100m was for staff buses.
Culled from Punch
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