The Ministry of Aviation has confirmed that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority bought two bulletproof vehicles worth $1.6m (N255m) for the Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah.
An online news medium, SaharaReporters, had reported on Tuesday that the armoured vehicles were delivered to the minister in August.
The medium reported that documents in its possession showed that the transaction for the purchase of the two BMW cars started in June, but the request for the delivery of and payment for them was fast-tracked between August 13 and 15, 2013.
The transaction involved the NCAA, First Bank of Nigeria, and Coscharis Motors Limited, according to the report.
The two black BMW 760 Li HSS vehicles had chasis numbers WBAHP41050DW68032 and WBAHP41010DW68044, and were reportedly delivered to the NCAA on August 13, 2013. They were received by two store managers, F. Onoabhagbe and Y. A. Amzat, who is also the agency’s head of transport.
Meanwhile, two major air crashes have occurred under Oduah’s watch.
These were the Dana Air crash in Lagos on June 3, 2012, in which 163 people died; and the Associated Airlines crash of October 3, 2013, also in Lagos, which claimed 15 lives.
A day after the Associated Airlines’ crash, a Kabo Airlines’ Boeing 747-400 plane carrying 512 pilgrims made an emergency landing at the Sokoto airport with deflated tyres and damaged the airport’s Instrument Landing System.
On Sunday, an IRS Airlines Fokker 100 plane carrying 99 passengers also made an emergency landing at the Kaduna airport, after developing hydraulic problems mid-air.
Four days after the tragic crash involving Associated Airlines’ Embraer 120 plane, Oduah described air accidents as God’s will that were inevitable.
She said notwithstanding this reality, the Federal Government would continue to ensure that there were no accidents.
The minister made the submission while fielding questions from State House correspondents on investigations into the crash.
The minister said, “We do not pray for accidents but they are inevitable. But we will continue to do everything to ensure that we do not have accidents. But an accident is an act of God.
“Again, we do not speculate on the causes of accidents. Until they happen, you cannot say this is the cause or that is not the cause. But what is obvious and is the truth is that in aviation, there are shared responsibilities, starting from the man that carries your luggage to the man that makes sure that your boarding pass is issued to you.
“And so, the regulatory agency, the operators, the management, everybody has his/her responsibility and all must work in tandem for there to be an optimal, secure and safe aviation sector in the country. And that is what we have been working on.”
Oduah described those saying that she left the issue of safety in the airspace to dwell on money-making ventures as ignorant.
However, much criticism had since followed her comment.
She had explained that security and safety could not be achieved without proper funding.
However, the Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister of Aviation, Mr. Joe Obi, who confirmed the development on Wednesday, said the vehicles were purchased to protect the minister from some external threats.
He said in a telephone conversation with our correspondent, “Yes, it is true that some security vehicles were procured for the use of the office of the honourable minister in response to the clear and imminent threat to her personal security and life following the bold steps she took to reposition the sector.
“When she came on board as the minister, she inherited a lot of baggage in terms of the concession and lease agreements in the sector, which were clearly not in the interest of the government and people of Nigeria.
“And so, she took bold steps and some of these agreements were reviewed and some were terminated, and these moves disturbed some entrenched interests in the sector, and within this period, she began to receive some imminent threats to her life; therefore, the need for the vehicles.
“It should be noted that these vehicles are not personal vehicles and were not procured in the name of the honourable minister; they are utility vehicles and are for the office of the minister, and if she leaves the office, she will not be taking the vehicles along with her.”
On his part, the spokesperson for the NCAA, Mr. Fan Ndubuike, feigned ignorance of the development.
“I am not aware of anything like that,” he told our correspondent at 8.05pm on Wednesday.
The NCAA is the agency charged with ensuring the airworthiness of commercial planes flying within the country’s airspace.
The agency has been under fire lately over a series of mishaps and near crashes involving planes being operated by domestic airlines that were certified fit for flight operations by the NCAA.
There have also been rumours that the NCAA does not have enough funds to upgrade its equipment, send its employees for critical training and hire enough qualified hands, while questions are also being raised by industry watchers on the ability of the cash-strapped agency to procure such expensive vehicles.
However, the Director-General, NCAA, Capt. Fola Akinkuotu, had on Monday denied the claims of being cash-strapped, saying that the agency was buoyant.
He said, “We are not broke, we have been carrying out all our responsibilities and have been undertaking the training of our staff as and when due.
“I can tell you that right now, some of our staff members are undergoing training abroad and we still have others that are waiting for approval; we do not joke with training here and I challenge anyone to come up with anything otherwise to that effect.” Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
When some sensible leaders are really cutting short on luxury lives, ours are busy ammasing the wealth to themselves as if they will be buried with it when they die. Why can't they learn from Abacha? Vanity upon vanity...all is vanity! In any sane society, this woman should have been fired by now. Come to think of it - what makes her life precious than any of the passengers on board a plane or a common pedestrian? If you are doing the right thing, why fear for your life? Be rest assured that when death comes calling, hundreds of armoured cars can't save you madam and if its not yet your time, even without a single security aid, you can't be touched. You are not even aquiring one but TWO, haba madam minister, FEAR GOD na!
ReplyDeleteYou are blessed for being so blank in your poit God bless you.
DeleteEven at that, all these years NCAA has been there, y Av they not repaired planes. And if they want to repair, can't they write the Minister to approve an amount for repairs and c whether she wud decline or not. Her request was made just 6months ago, but their planes Av been bought long before now. What happened to yearly maintenance, or quarterly maintenance. In as much as am not happy with what she did, my mind tells me FFK is involved in this, just to bring her down. Na Dem sabi oo
ReplyDeleteA typical nitwit dumbskull nigeria answer! Is it FFK dt made d request?
DeleteWhat makes your life so special than an ordinary Nigerian to warrant armoured cars madam? Your bad deeds makes you fear for your life. You probably forgets that when death comes calling, even hundreds od armoured cars won't be able to save you. Why must it be TWO cars for crying out loud? I guess one for your body and the other for your soul. Unless you all change your ways, if you keep amassing wealth meant for the whole people to yourselves and families, your generations unborn will be the ones to suffer for it. While other sensible leaders are trying to cut down on expenses, ours are busy adding more and more. The Judge of the whole world is watching YOU!
ReplyDeleteFirst it was rumor, now it's true. Yeye
ReplyDeleteall dis financial wastages could solve some of problems disturbing the peace of dis great nation.
ReplyDeleteVanity upon vanity, Naija lets wake up from our slumber sleep and do things right, God is watching and his judgement is at hand
ReplyDeleteAbati once called ffk a "commentator wt out sense" i've now seen dt there are alot of commentators wt out sense on this forum.where are those hurling insults on oduah?where are those hurling insults on efcc&icpc that they dont knw their work? where are those saying dat jonathan has prevented efcc from picking up oduah.where are those hurling insults on d senate&reps for not inviting oduah?...i dont knw where this grand anti-jonathan tribalism will take us to.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if either ur parent or children was in one of those two planes dt av crashed since oduah took over as aviation minister u will be saying wat u are saying now...
Deletebut this is too much for her
ReplyDeleteAll of you hailing insults on Mrs Oduah, go and find out the cost of cars used by the senate president, CBN governor, IG, military chiefs, DGs, other ministers, Governors and how many of such cars they have. Some of them have private jets.
ReplyDeleteHelp me also find out the cost of cars used by some artist, comedians, bank executives,. I think poverty in Nigeria has entered peoples head that they don't want anything good for their leaders again. By the way, who are these type of cars meant for? if you are in her shoes, many of you will buy helicopter or Jet. how much did FFK embezzle before he was sacked ?, what type of car did he use, in whose name did he buy them. just because this woman is transparent we want to crucify her for bullet proof car that big boys and young ladies use. find out how much they sell any bullet proof car. then you know that even the ones some pastors and artist use in Nigeria are more expensive.
Madam, we love your reforms, you have actually stepped on peoples toes because of the changes you brought in aviation. they cannot kill you, not bc you have bullet proof car. "he who the gods guard, also guide himself"
The Hon Minister has no need for bullet proof vehicles and if she thinks she needs one, she should have purchased one from her personal resources. If this is supposed to be a perk of her position, why was it not purchased from her Ministry directly? This is a clear evidence of abuse of office where serving Ministers take care of their personal needs through agencies under their Ministry. Let us see how the President manages this issue. Mr. Ugwu, a serving Minister of Education under Obasanjo was fired for collecting money from the NUC.
ReplyDeleteMore than 90% of the country does not have access to clean water or dependable elctricity; PortHarCourt "international" airport toilets are in such state of disrepair that you cannot even close the door behind you to urinate, let alone conduct more serious business. Decadence is all you see all over the country. Yet a minister is spending this kind of money so that she can ride around in luxury at the expense of a dying nation. the worst of it is that the people are so silent and subdued, lending more courage to the abusers who call themselves leaders. What you see in Oduah's department is what goes on all over the country, including at the highest levels. We blame the British for our failure to develop but we are unwilling to admit that we are our own worst enemy, with our corruption, tribalism and incompetence. Education has gone to hell, there are no medical facilities to write home about, disease is prevalent; yet those in positions of leadership are bashing in opulence, exposing their ignorance to civilized society. Nigeria should be ashamed of itself..
ReplyDeleteMadam you're a disgrace to humanity to be perfectly honest with you. Calling Udoa an animal is an embarrassment to animals. This country is circling the drain. Shame on you docile Nigerian, shame on the minister and shame on this administration.
ReplyDeleteMadam you're a disgrace to humanity to be perfectly honest with you. Calling Udoa an animal is an embarrassment to animals. This country is circling the drain. Shame on you docile Nigerian, shame on the minister and shame on this administration.
ReplyDeleteMadam you're a disgrace to humanity to be perfectly honest with you. Calling Udoa an animal is an embarrassment to animals. This country is circling the drain. Shame on you docile Nigerian, shame on the minister and shame on this administration.
ReplyDeleteMadam you're a disgrace to humanity to be perfectly honest with you. Calling Udoa an animal is an embarrassment to animals. This country is circling the drain. Shame on you docile Nigerian, shame on the minister and shame on this administration.
ReplyDeleteLooking at Oduah she is a marine agent,the Queen of the heaven which is the mother of witchcrafty with queen of the coast which with headquarter inside the water always work together to cause accident both on land,air and water.
ReplyDeleteTheir mandate is to drink blood st all cost,as year is going to an end,they are too are rounding- off the assignment for year so as to give their stewardship in the witchcraft and marine coven..How do you explain it when their agent is part of policy maker,they will not make any good decision so as to allow their wish to come to pass...did GEJ not see that woman as unfit for that position? Or it is their arrangement to drink blood to renew their power.
Remember ur covenant u entered when u r swon in as a minister that u will abide the rules of fed republic of nigeria and protect the live of people why r u not obeying
ReplyDeleteA REVOLUTION THAT WILL SWEEP AWAY ALL THESE GLUTTONS IS ALL WE NEED. BUT THE PROBLEM REMAINS.....WHO WILL BELL THE CAT?
ReplyDelete