N255m Car Scandal: Oduah Denies Wrongdoing, Blames NCAA DG, Aides
The embattled Minister of
Aviation, Ms Stella Oduah, has been accused by the House of
Representatives Committee on Aviation of approving N564m for the
purchase of 54 cars beyond her power.
The
committee alleged that Oduah, who finally appeared before it on
Thursday after failing to honour earlier invitations, did not follow
the budget approved for the Aviation ministry and its agencies by the
National Assembly.
When
Oduah was called upon to testify on her role in the purchase of two
bulletproof cars at a whopping N255m and other vehicles by the Nigerian
Civil Aviation Authority, she seemed to have regained confidence as she
looked the committee members in the face and then apologised for her
failure to honour their earlier summons.
She
denied that the NCAA bought the two bulletproof cars for her use,
claiming that its decision to buy the cars did not breach any law of the
land. She stated that the NCAA bought the bulletproof cars for its
own operations in line with the rising profile of Nigeria as an ICAO
member.
According to her, she was alarmed by media reports tying the purchase of the cars to her personal comfort.
She
said, “It is not true that NCAA spent N255m to purchase the bulletproof
cars for the minister. It is totally untrue; there is nothing
reflecting my name. The cars were not registered in my name. All I did
was approve based on the proposal sent to me on lease financing by the
NCAA.”
She defended the NCAA, saying that it bought the cars as part of its three-year budgetary plan to beef up its operational fleet.
When
the committee members accused her of giving anticipatory approval for
expenditure beyond her power, Oduah said she expected the NCAA to go
back and do “the needful” by complying with procurement regulations.
Earlier,
Oduah had apologised for her failure to appear before yesterday,
blaming it on her trip abroad to sign a Bilateral Air Services
Agreement between Nigera and Israel .
She also admitted that attempts made by some officials to clarify the car scandal were “muddled up.”
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READ MORE: http://news.naij.com/51132.html
