N255m car deal: My story, by Stella Oduah

Aviation Minister, Ms. Stella Oduah

Embattled Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, who is facing separate probe panels set up by President Goodluck Jonathan as well as the National Assembly over the purchase of N255 million armoured cars has written the president to explain her side of the story.

The President on Tuesday issued query to her to explain her role in the purchase of the armoured cars.

In her response which Vanguard obtained exclusively, the minister said procurement of the cars followed due process and was provided for in the NCAA 2013 budget.

Defence

In her defence titled: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ON THE PROCUREMENT OF NCAA OPERATIONAL VEHICLES, she wrote: “The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, is the statutory regulator of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Industry.

Consequently, the NCAA is charged with oversight responsibilities over all civil aviation operations in the country, including safety, security and strict compliance with ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices, SARPs, and Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations, NCARs.

2. Towards the effective implementation of its statutory regulatory responsibilities, therefore, it is imperative that the NCAA is fully equipped with highly specialised tools and facilities, including adequate operational vehicles to cover all 22 national airports and over 400 airstrips. In keeping with standard practice, provision is therefore made annually for the replacement of obsolete, inadequate and unreliable monitoring equipment.

3.In the 2013 budgetary appropriation, provision was made for the procurement of specialised equipment (including operational vehicles) to complement and in some cases replace obsolete ones.

Furthermore, the fact that NCAA, as the regulator of the industry, often plays host to dignitaries from ICAO, IATA, US FAA, AFRAA, AFCAC BAGASO, CANSO, ACI and a host of others makes it necessary to have specialised operational vehicles.

4.With regard to the procurement of additional operational vehicles (including BMW Security Vehicles), the following due process was observed:

(I) By letter dated April 15, 2013, NCAA officially requested authorisation from the Federal Ministry of Aviation to procure 56 operational vehicles through lease financing. This option was proposed to the ministry to enable the NCAA make 36 monthly payments based on receipts from Internally Generated Revenue, IGR.

Approval

The Ministry therefore granted due approval.

(ii)Based on the ministry’s approval, the NCAA invited Expressions of Interest from all Banks in Nigeria for the financing of the said vehicles. EOI was adopted because the procurement is two sided. First, the financier would have to be selected before the supplier is determined. This is in line with procurement best practices.

(iii) On May 24, 2013, the response received from the various banks to the Expression of Interest, EOI, request was opened publicly and minutes of the opening exercise was duly documented. During the EOI opening exercise, NCAA got commendation from one of the Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, approved by BPP who were invited for the opening exercise.

(iv)  The evaluation of the expression of interests was held on May 31, 2013 during which First Bank Plc, Union Bank Plc and Stanbic IBTC emerged most responsive. On the June 10, 2013 the above three banks were invited to submit Financial Proposals. Thereafter, First Bank emerged the highest rated responsive bidder.

(v)Between June 20 and 25, 2013, invoices were received from various accredited motor vehicle dealers during which only Coscharis Motors Limited quoted for BMW Security Vehicles.

Tenders Board

(vi) On June  28, 2013, NCAA Parastatal Tenders Board approved the selection of First Bank Ltd for the Lease Financing as well as Metropolitan Motor Vehicles and Coscharis for the supply of the vehicles.  All  necessary approvals  were duly  sought  and  obtained accordingly.

(vii) Between  July 8, 2013 to August, 12, 2013 various meetings were held with First Bank Ltd, contract agreement was signed and necessary documentation executed.

Your Excellency is respectfully invited to note:

(i) The crucial statutory role of the NCAA in regulating civil aviation operations in the country, including safety, security and strict compliance with ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (NCARs).

(ii) The need for NCAA to be fully equipped with highly specialized tools and facilities (including operational vehicles) to enable the effective implementation of its statutory functions.

(iii) The procurement of specialized operational vehicles is duly provided for in the NCAA 2p 13 (IGR) Budget and the need for adopting instalmental lease payments over36rionths.

(iii) That Due Process was followed in the procurement of the said operational vehicles.

Please your Excellency my continued loyally and esteemed regards.

Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah, OON, Honourable Minister.


- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/10/n255m-car-deal-story-stella-oduah/#sthash.vWCkY8LK.dpuf

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority on Thursday told the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation that the Ministry of Aviation approved the controversial purchase of the N255m bulletproof cars for Ms Stella Oduah.

The Director of Aerodrome in the NCAA, Mr. Joyce Nkem-Akonam, made this known during the  committee’s public sitting  in Abuja.

Nkem-Akonam, who handled the transaction  as  the acting managing director  of the NCAA,  had made spirited efforts to defend the purchase.

He told the committee members that since     “Leased financing, not direct financing, was   adopted to procure the vehicles,” the agency  breached no law.

When asked if  leased financing was not a commitment that the NCAA would still  pay for the vehicles, he  said  it did not mean that it was extra-budgetary spending.

Facing a barrage of questions from the committee members, he later said the NCAA got approval from the Aviation  ministry.

• BPE  faults NCAA, says it wasn’t contacted

 But, the Bureau for Public Procurement faulted him when it disputed the claim that the contract for the cars followed due process.

An official of the BPP, who represented the Director-General, Mr. Ayo Aderigbigbe, told the committee that no ministry had powers to approve any expenditure above N100m.

“A ministerial tenders board can approve expenditure of N100m and below, but if it is above N100m, it must go before the Federal Executive Council,” he explained.

The BPP official also surprised the  committee members when he disclosed that the agency was never contacted by the NCAA over the car purchase.

He said, “We have nothing to forward to the committee on this matter. We have no information on the purchase of the two vehicles or the contract in question.”

The Director-General of the NCAA, Capt. Fola Akintuotu,  had  earlier told the committee that he was not  in charge  of affairs when the transaction  took place.

He said he assumed duties on August 14, after the expenditure had been done.

But there was a mild drama when the committee asked  him whether the earlier explanation of the minister’s aide (Joe Obi) that the cars were bought because the life of Oduah was in danger was correct.

 “I can’t speak for the SA(Special Adviser)  to the minister,” he responded.

Again, he was asked whether a minister was entitled to the type of protection the cars were meant to serve.

To this, he said, “I believe that is a hypothetical question and I cannot answer it.”

• Minister can’t cut short visit to Israel

 Oduah, who  had earlier been summoned by the committee to appear before it on Thursday, was represented by the  Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. George Ossi.

He explained that the minister could not attend the sitting because she was already in Israel when a letter inviting her reached the ministry.

 According to him, the   letter dated  October 17,  got to the ministry on October 22.

He  said,  “The minister had already left the country. She transmitted a scanned copy of her reply from Israel.

“She is leading the Nigerian delegation to Israel to sign a  Bilateral Air Services  Agreement.

“She cannot cut short her visit to Israel because they will most probably sign the BASA on Monday (next week).”

• N1bn committed to cars by NCAA

 Fresh facts emerged   during the committee’s  sitting on   how the NCAA  made a commitment of “over N1bn” to procure vehicles for security and operational purposes this year without appropriation by the National Assembly.

The agency bought 54 vehicles for N643.1m  under   “Leased Financing” entered into with the First Bank Plc. These  included  the controversial N255m  bulletproof cars.

The  total budget approved by the National Assembly for NCAA’s vehicles this year  is  N240m.

The National Assembly’s  figure (N240m) is   for 25 vehicles, excluding the two bulletproof cars.

The   Aviation committee, which worked on the budget of the agency, had rejected the NCAA’s request to buy the bulletproof cars.

The NCAA  later side-tracked the National Assembly to seek the approval of the Ministry of Aviation to purchase the cars.

More revelations indicated that the NCAA applied to buy  each of  the bulletproof cars  at N70m.

However, it later opted to pay N127.5m for each car, totalling N255m for the two.

This brought the “extra-budgetary” expenditure of  the NCAA on vehicles this year to N643.1m.

 The committee discovered that the N643.1m was a loan taken from the First Bank Plc and excluded interest, charges and other costs built into the terms of the agreement.

A  member of the panel, Mr. Mohammed Wudil,  said,  “What has come to light   is that, if you calculate and include all the charges, the NCAA has committed about N1bn of public funds to these vehicles.”

• 1999 Constitution breached—Panel

The committee, which is headed by Mrs. Nkiruka Onyejeocha, said the “NCAA clearly committed an illegality   and   breached the 1999 Constitution   by   spending without appropriation by the National Assembly.”

The committee later ruled that  Oduah  must appear unfailingly on Tuesday.

“Our ruling is that the minister must be here on Tuesday,”   Onyejeocha  said. She   directed  the NCAA   to also appear on Tuesday  with all its  bank statements.

• APC, TMG caution FG

The  All Progressives Congress and the Transition Monitoring Group have  warned against any attempt by spin doctors in  the Ministry of  Aviation   to use politics as a cover-up for the car  scandal.

In separate statements   in Abuja on Thursday, the APC and the TMG asked the government to get to the root of the  matter and penalise those involved in it.

The APC,  in a   statement by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed,  said it was most unconscionable for anyone to blame the opposition  for the widespread outcry against “the monumental corruption and abuse of office engendered by the scandal.”

Mohammed said  the opposition, in particular, should not be blamed for the justifiable indignation of most Nigerians to the  scandal, as “Yakubu Dati, who goes by the title of ‘coordinating spokesperson for the Aviation Ministry’ tried to do in his winding postulation on the scandal.”

He added, ‘’What Dati and his co-spin doctors tried to do is to play on President Goodluck  Jonathan’s insecurity as far as 2015 elections are concerned.

“This is very insulting not only to Nigerians but also to the  President  himself, and it will not sell. After all, attempts to blame the opposition for the lingering ASUU strike has also failed.

“In any case, what is the business of a public servant, who is supposed to be apolitical, about whether a President is re-elected or not?”

Mohammed  said   Jonathan had  again failed to live up to expectation by  allowing   clowns to seek to pull the wool over the eyes of Nigerians in the name of defending the indefensible.

He wondered why Jonathan would engage in a diversionary and exculpatory strategy of setting up a panel to investigate the scandal, when there were statutory bodies  empowered by law  to do so.

Mohammed  said, ‘’There is precedent on how to handle such a matter. In case President Jonathan has forgotten, his then boss, President Umaru   Yar’Adua(late), sacked Adenike Grange and Gabriel Aduku, Minister of Health and Minister of State for Health respectively, for spending part of the ministry’s unspent budget.

“The Permanent Secretary and other top officials of the ministry were also suspended when the issue broke out. No panel was set up before this action was taken.”

Also,  the TMG said it was shocked at the shameful and embarrassing transaction and acquisition of the   armoured cars for Oduah.

It said it was even more shocking that at a time like this when Nigerians  had been calling  on  Jonathan to sanction the minister, he found it comfortable to make   her  a leading member of his entourage to Israel on pilgrimage.

The TMG, in  a statement by its Chairman,  Ibrahim Zikirullahi, and Publicity Secretary, Eddy Ezurike ,  said it was “not at all surprised at the rash   response by the minister to the purported ‘query’ issued   her by the President.”

It added, “Given our governance system, it may well be the person issuing the query is the same person providing answers.”

The TMG urged the anti-corruption agencies in the country  to quickly   investigate “this financial and executive recklessness”  in  the aviation sector

In Lagos, the   Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders   described  the probe  panel     as diversionary.

The Executive Chairman, CACOL, Mr. Debo Adeniran, in a statement on Thursday, alleged that the panel was meant to divert the attention of Nigerians from the issue at stake.

He said, “The panel is just another attempt to sweep the scandal under the carpet. Nigerians now know better that the probe panel is a way to douse the heat that has followed the revelation of Oduah’s shenanigans in the Aviation sector.

“The panel itself is another way of wasting the scarce resources and man-hour that could have been deployed into doing something more meaningful. All these diversionary panels make a mess of President Jonathan’s purported fight against corruption.”