The House of Representatives has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to review the continued engagement of the Minister Of Aviation, Ms Stella Oduah for contravening the Appropriation Act 2013.
According to the report, the minister also contravened the Appropriation Act by exceeding the ministry’s approval limit of N100 million by the purchase of 54 vehicles at N643 million.
This was a major part of the resolutions adopted by the lawmakers after considering the report of the House Committee on Aviation, on the purchase of two armoured cars for N643 million.
The report said that the two BMW armoured cars procured in the process were neither provided for in the Act of 2013, nor was there due process followed in their procurement.
The House has also directed the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to terminate all transactions and loan agreements into on the matter.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are to also investigate the discrepancies in the chassis number DW68032 of one of the vehicles inspected by the committee.
Minister Expresses Disappointment Over Report
Meanwhile, the Minister of Aviation, Ms Stella Oduah has expressed disappointment at the report of the House.
“We are shocked and disappointed that in spite of the deluge of representations and evidences provided by the Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah and all invited stakeholders on the matter, the House would reach conclusions that have only confirmed that there was a hidden agenda in the entire exercise from the beginning,” a statement by the Special Adviser on Media to the Minister, Mr Joe Obi said.
Mr Obi also condemned the position of the committee that the vehicles were not included in the budget despite the clear evidence he claimed exists in the Appropriation Act.
“Evidence also shows that the cars in question were included as a line item under the “Safety and Security Vehicles” sub-head in the Appropriation Act. The position of the committee that this was not included the budget is spurious as clear evidence exists in the Appropriation Act as stated above.”
He further stated that the action of the Committee and the House were “pre-meditated with the sole aim of casting aspersions on the person and office of the aviation minister”.
Ms. Oduah reiterated her earlier claim of innocence and said that all decisions she took on the procurement followed due process.
“We stand by our earlier submissions to the committee that Due Process was followed in the procurement of the vehicles by the NCAA. The Minister told the Public Hearing; and her evidence was corroborated by the NCAA that the cars were neither purchased for her nor in her name,” he said.
