The House of Representatives has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to remove aviation minister, Stella Oduah, over the minister’s role in the illegal purchase of two armoured cars-not budgeted for by government- at an inflated N255 million.
Leaked documents published in October 2013 showed Mrs. Oduah authorised the purchase, done by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) in breach of Appropriation Act, and public procurement regulations, as the contract was not listed in government budget and was not open to the public.
Investigation ordered by the House of Representatives unearthed several anomalies with the contract including how the supplier, Coscharis Motors, lied to the office of the National Security Adviser, to obtain approval for the importation of the bulletproof cars.
Lawmakers also found that in authorising the purchase at N255 million, Mrs. Oduah exceeded the approval limit which stood at N100 million.
The contract sum was also found sufficient to purchase four of the same specification.
But the minister insisted she followed the law in allowing the contract.
The House committee on aviation, which probed the scandal, concluded the minister breached relevant laws and urged the president to “review the continued engagement” of Mrs. Oduah. That proposal was approved by House on Thursday.
The resolution followed the consideration and adoption of the report submitted by the committee.
The house also directed the NCAA to immediately terminate all transactions and loan agreement with First Bank of Nigeria, the financier of the project.
The House also approved the sanction of former NCAA Acting Director-General, Nkemakolam Joyce, and the Director of Finance, S. Ozigi, who originated the contract.
Lawmakers urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC, and other anti-corruption agencies, to further investigate the supplier, Coscharis, over the discrepancies in the chassis number DW68032 of the vehicles.
Mrs. Oduah said in a statement she was “disappointed and shocked” with the report and said it was “pre-meditated” to indict her.
“We are shocked and disappointed that in spite of the deluge of representations and evidences provided by the Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah and ail invited stakeholders on the matter, the House would reach conclusions that have only confirmed that there was a hidden Agenda in the entire exercise from the beginning,” her spokesperson said.
Mrs. Oduah maintained she was innocent and claimed her directives in the contract followed due process.
“We stand by our earlier submissions to the committee that Due Process was followed in the procurement of the vehicles by the NCAA. The Minister told the Public Hearing; and her evidence was corroborated by the NCAA that the cars were neither purchased for her nor in her name,” she said.
“Evidence also shows that the cars in question were included as a line item under the “safety and Security vehicles” sub-head in the Appropriation Act. The position of the committee that this was not included the budget is spurious as clear evidence exists in the Appropriation Act as stated above.”