Reps to probe Aviation Minister over 250m cars

ABUJA—The House of Representatives is
to investigate the purchase of two official
vehicles at the cost of N250 million for the
Minister of Aviation, Ms Stella Oduah, when
it resumes tomorrow.
The inclination of the House is in the wake
of fury in the two chambers of the National
Assembly over the alleged purchase of the
two armoured vehicles which the
legislators claimed was not provided for in
the 2013 budget.
The two BMW vehicles were purchased for
Mrs Oduah by the National Civil Aviation
Authority, NCAA, a parastatal under the
supervision of the Ministry of Aviation.
While House members were livid over the
purchase which they claimed as
insensitive, senators were more
circumspect even though one senator
described the purchase as obscene.
Both chambers of the National Assembly
are resuming from Sallah break tomorrow.
We will unravel those involved — Rep
Mohammed
Spokesman of the House, Rep. Zakari
Mohammed, PDP who told Vanguard
yesterday that the purchases could not
have been endorsed in the 2013 budget
said the House would launch an
investigation into the issue after it
resumes tomorrow.
“The House as soon as it resumes
proceedings this week will unravel
circumstances surrounding the purchase
of those cars,” he told Vanguard in a
telephone interview.
Stella Oduah
Asked whether the House captured the
purchase in the 2013 Appropriation Act,
Mohammed said “the House cannot
approve such a thing it must have been
captured under another sub title.”
Speaking in the same vein, Chairman of the
House Committee on Justice, Rep Ahmad
Ali described the situation as appalling and
scandalous.
“One thing I am certain of is that the
House will unravel those involved and
know who and who collected money and
such people must face the full wrath of the
law.
“I used to respect the Minster of Aviation a
lot. But with this, the Ministry officials have
scandalized the administration. While it is
her choice to apologize to Nigerians, it
remains the responsibility of the
administration to surprise Nigerians and
frontally address the indiscretion.
“This incident should not be added to the
catalogue of impunity going on,” Ali
added.
Chairman of the House Committee on Anti-
corruption and Ethics, Rep Abiodun Faleke
on his part said Oduah would definitely be
made to answer questions if the vehicles
were actually bought at the prices reported.
“Definitely if the cars were bought, we
need to know how and why and by whom,
if it is true, she has a lot to answer when
we resume.”
Rep. Ogbonna Nwuke representing Etche/
Omuma Federal Constituency, Rivers State
said there was no provision for the
purchase in the 2013 budget.
“The money used in purchasing those
vehicles was not appropriated for. You can
go through the budget, it’s not there,” he
claimed yesterday.
“The fact is that those cars have been
bought with tax-payers’ money and what
we should really concern ourselves is
whether really it was appropriated for in
the Appropriation Act.
“Can you imagine how many jobs that
amount of money would have created in
the Aviation industry? At a time that over
66 percent of Nigerians are below poverty
level. Can you imagine how many persons
that would have taken off the streets? We
are worried about the percentage of people
who are not employed. Yet, nobody cares
instead what is important is to buy bullet-
proof cars because somebody feels
threatened.”
Representative Bassey Dan Abia, Eket/
Onna/Esit/Ibeno Federal Constituency of
Akwa Ibom State said the fate of the
minister remains in the hands of the
president but he nevertheless affirmed that
the purchases could only have been done
without appropriation by the National
Assembly.
“I can’t call for her sack, her sack is the
prerogative of the President.”
Oduah’s purchase of N255m cars obscene
— Senate
One senator speaking on the condition of
anonymity described the action of the
minister as ‘obscene’ bearing in mind the
condition of the country’s public
universities which have been closed down
for months.
“I suspect that it is not in the budget. And
then two, for a country that is passing
through these times, that is obscene to
say the least,” the senator said.
He also said that the purchase of the two
BMW cars at such an outrageous price
should be investigated, adding, “for those
who should know (the price) they say that
those vehicles are over priced so the
relevant agencies must investigate it.”
Chairman of the Senate Committee on
Aviation, Senator Hope Uzodinma did not
respond to enquiries.