N255m cars: I did no wrong, says Oduah

 

ON THE HOT SEAT: Ms Oduah at the committee’s hearing in Abuja...yesterday PHOTO:

 

FOR the first time since the N255m bulletproof cars purchase scandal broke out, the woman at the centre of it all defended her integrity yesterday.

Minister of Aviation Stella Oduah told the House Committee on Aviation that she did no wrong.

She said her approval of the purchase in no way meant that she encouraged the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) not to follow due process.

According to her, in approving the purchase, she had told the NCAA to “ do the needful”. The “needful”, according to Ms Oduah, meant they should follow due process.

The minister not only defended herself at the session, but went a step further to stick her neck out for the NCAA.

Oduah, who read a prepared speech, spoke on the allegations against her. She said: “In the last few weeks, I have received all sorts of bashings in the media. Many persons have also risen to my defence. Many have abused me, some out of a genuine sense of outrage that I allegedly spent the sum of USD1.6 million of government funds to purchase for myself two nos bulletproof BMW cars for my personal use.

“Honourable Chairman, as you are all aware, what necessitated this public hearing were the events that followed a false and malicious online publication that I had compelled the NCAA to purchase for me 2 nos BMW bulletproof cars at the cost of USD1.6 Million. Let me state emphatically from the onset that the allegation concerning the purchase of 2 nos bulletproof cars for me by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) is false in its entirety.

“Sadly, other than the conjecture, the publication has not supported this inflammatory statement with any rational basis. As a matter of fact, their justification and confirmation, which they brandish, is nothing but the erroneous responses of my aides.”

The long wait for the minister by the committee for her to state her side of the controversial purchase ended when Ms Oduah walked into the Conference Room 231 at 11:39 a.m.

The Nkiruka Onyejeocha- headed committee extended the hearing by a day to enable her return from an official journey and tender her position before the lawmakers.

Oduah came into the hall wearing a sober mien. She spotted a navy blue batik material with her usual head gear and glittering jewellry.

All through the event, she tried maintaining a quiet and purposeful approach to the issues she explained, but got agitated a few times in response to questions.

No sooner had Oduah arrived the venue when she immediately stepped out for about 10 minutes to confer with her aides and consultants near the elevators, where they gave her documents and injury-time guidance on what to say and how to comport herself.

Oduah was emphatic that the NCAA did not spend monies not approved by the Appropriation Act, 2013.

She said: “The NCAA, as a result of the daily interaction with the law in its regulatory and enforcement roles, is at all times and in all matters conscious of its obligations of complying with the law and all extant rules and regulations of the government.

“The NCAA is, therefore, conscious of its obligations relating in particular to appropriation and will never spend monies that have not been appropriated by the National Assembly.

“It is in this regard, therefore, that the NCAA, within the framework of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) approved by the National Assembly as a planning tool, planned its budget with regard to acquisition of operational and other security and safety vehicles for the next three years in a manner compliant with Section 80 (4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as Amended), that prohibits the spending of monies from any fund of the Federation, except as appropriated by the National Assembly.”

The minister said that the media had been awash with the purported spending of monies by the NCAA to the tune of USD1.6 million, N255 million and other figures on the purchase of the vehicles.

“It is not true that the NCAA has spent such amount of money on purchase of vehicles. It is also not true that the NCAA has purchased two bullet proof BMW vehicles for the Honourable Minister of Aviation,” Oduah said.

She said her understanding of what the NCAA did was to plan for the acquisition of vehicles for next three years within the MTEF through a lease financing arrangement with First Bank Plc.

“Under this arrangement, NCAA would have paid N100 million by the end of fiscal year 2013. The sum is below the appropriated amount of N240 million and less than what is required for FEC approval.

“It would appear that what the NCAA has done within the framework of the MTEF and its desire to be prudent is to plan its budget in a manner that the cash flow of the authority is able to accommodate spending.”

Justifying the lease financing of the 2 BMW cars, Oduah said: “The NCAA owes its very existence to the benevolence and wisdom of the National Assembly expressed through the promulgation of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Act, 2006.

“As the regulator of the entire aviation industry, the NCAA, pursuant to powers granted under the Civil Aviation Act, 2006 makes and enforces Regulations towards ensuring safety and security of Nigeria’s airspace.

“The NCAA in addition, plays a pivotal role in carrying out Nigeria’s international obligations and responsibilities. Our role in the Ministry and under the law is what I have carried out which is to support this from a policy and execution standpoint only.”

She added that the two armoured cars were necessary for safety and security in the operations of the NCAA and should not be linked with her name.

“Nothing in the approved budget reflected my name. I never asked for any vehicle. It is not registered in my name, but of the NCAA and First Bank

All I did was to approve the requests.”

Oduah insisted that the NCAA went through due process as there were no guidelines by the Bureau of Public Procurement on auto lease financing.

“We have always acted in a prudent manner,” she concluded.

But the members of the Committee were not satisfied with her explanations. A member. Zakari Mohammed, wanted the Minister to be definite on if what the NCAA did was auto loan or auto lease financing.

“Loan agreement is different from a lease agreement; is it a loan or lease agreement? First Bank said it is an auto loan. I’m aware there is a procurement law, Clause 16(13). The threshold is N100 million. N255 million exceeds your threshold. What laws did you rely on? Is there any law empowering you to approve above a N100m? Is there any law you’re depending on that gave you the power to do that?”

Oduah insisted that from the way the payment of the lease financing was structured, she did not pass her threshold. According to her, there was no difference between loans and lease agreement.

“The dynamics of the auto loans agreement and lease agreement is still the same,” she said. This caused further disagreement.

Another member, Jerry Manwe, told the minister that there was mischief in the action of the NCAA, adding that the National Assembly never approved of the purchase of armoured or bulletproof cars, but that rather, the N240 million in the NCAA budget was for operational and security cars.

He added: “If you’re quoting MTEF, and at the end of this loan

NCAA would have paid close to a billion over three years, Which MTEF provides to that? Also, First Bank said that at the end of this year you would pay N160m on the lease; is this not above your threshold?

“This committee rejected armoured vehicle for the patrol of perimeter fence, do you need bullet-proof cars to patrol perimeter fences?”

On accusation of not following due process in her approval, Oduah said: “I said approved, but do the needful- what does the needful mean? When I said ‘do the needful’, I meant you should go through the process

The intent of the memo is approval for implementation. The minister approves for implementation. The annex (attached to her documents) says approved for implementation and for the memo to be implemented, it must go through due process.”

Oduah argued that “security vehicles” means armoured and bulletproof cars. She, however, added: “The deal of N643 million is a mere understanding, which can be called off. Expression of interest was to 22 banks.”

The chairman of the committee interjected: “Approved, do the needful…NCAA, when the minister said ‘approved’, do the needful, what did you do?”

The DG NCAA, Fola Akinkotu, parried the question. He said: “Do the needful? As I said earlier, the officer, who was in charge of it at that time, will explain. But as a DG, what I would so is to follow due process, but when the Acting DG (who had gone to the toilet at the time) comes back, he would explain.”

Permanent Secretary, George Ossi, said: “Actually when the memo came to the Minister for approval she expected that the agency would have complied with due process. The due diligence is expected to be done by the agency because this is their project, the Permanent Secretary is just to convey. I, as the PS was not available at this time. I am not trying to shift the blame, DG is the accounting officer. The DG is expected to do due diligence after the minister’s approval.”

When the Acting DG, Mkemakolon, returned, he was put on oath. He said: “I went out to ease myself. I just came in. When we got the approval and that we should do the needful, we assumed that means that the agency should go through due process.

“We went through processes…going to the banks, suppliers etc were processes. We were of the mindset that we’ve already gotten the approval of the National Assembly.”

The President of Coscharis, Cosmas Maduka, caused a stir in his response to queries on the mix-up in the chassis numbers of the vehicles. In an agitated voice he said: “Look, let me tell you, we don’t do monkey business. We have given you the documents, you can call the manufacturers.”

Mrs. Onyejeocha intervened: “Oga (to Coscharis), Oga listen, please, sit down and drink some water. Take it easy.”

In her opening speech, Mrs. Onyejeocha told the minister that the House mandated the committee to investigate the purchase of the cars, “ find out if the cars were actually purchased; If it was authorised in an appropriation law; If NCAA has been complying with the Fiscal Responsibility Act on the Internally Generated Revenue and if the minister is entitled to to the use of such cars.”