by Okey Ikechukwu

Which brings us to yet another matter of whether or not the Minister of Aviation took custody of the vehicles under reference and used same personally. If she took possession of the vehicles, or has been using them, then all the fine tales about this matter must be put down to reprehensible grammatical summersaults.

Whodunit! The Americans would say that in the face of developments that call for clarity regarding who is responsible for what. Did the Federal Ministry of Aviation pay out over N600 million and collected receipts for operational vehicles, when only N240 million was approved for it? If yes, then the Ministry has acted in violation of the specific law that public funds may not be expended except as appropriated and approved by the National Assembly. If, however, the Ministry has not so transgressed but is being accused of having done so, then there is something we are all yet to be told.

Issue number two: Is it true that the Minister of Aviation specifically approved the sum of N255 million for the purchase of two armoured vehicles for herself? If yes, it means that she has taken incredible liberties with her office and with our common patrimony. This would be both reckless and insensitive. For good measure, we must wonder whether such expenditure is consistent with even her own voiced concern that monies spent in the sector under her watch should be seen to add value to aviation, to the life of Nigerians and to the image and reputation of the nation. It has been said by everyone, including the National Assembly through the Aviation Committee that such monies were in fact paid out, notwithstanding the fact that agency that was made to make the payment is a cash strapped one.

But what if the Ministry did not pay any such monies? What if it is all not true? The only way to prove the truth or otherwise of the claim is to look at the relevant records. Such records are available to the public. Available evidence indicates that what the Aviation Ministry has so far paid on vehicular procurements is N52 million out of the approved sum of N240 million by the National Assembly. Spin doctors are at work, right? Go check for yourself if you think so. While you are at, please remember to look specifically at the dates, using your contacts in the Accounts and Admin departments, to nab any scribbling document and record violators and forgers. The story is just not being told right.

As I write, we all believe that over half a billion was thoughtlessly paid out by a cash-strapped government agency, following an insensitive and reckless directive by a Minister of the Federal Republic. Since the records (including its banking records) can blow everyone out of the water, people should go for it. The Freedom of Information Act is there. So is also is technology; to check all financial transactions and postings.

What anyone who looks into this matter will discover is more than confounding. How did we all come about the thesis that the Ministry has overspent when its total projected expenditure on the item in question, up to December 2013, comes to about N116 million. The question here then is how, if the Ministry’s own projected expenditures on the procurement of vehicles, including payments connected with the two controversial vehicles shows that it will not exhaust the allocation for this year, we all came to our “certainty” about so many aspects of the alleged abuse.

There is also the matter of whether National Assembly did, in fact, approve the purchase of the said vehicles. We have it on the authority of the Committee Chairman that the honourable House even went further to specifically remove the offending two items of expenditure from the Aviation Ministry’s budget. If this is true then our representatives, opinion leaders, well-meaning Nigerians and the media, are justifiably outraged that a Minister could arrogated to herself the duties of the duly elected representatives of Nigerians. Who knows, such a Minister may well be an alternate federal government; with the clear and present danger of even declaring herself a continent!

But since the national budget under reference is a public document, the reader should please get a copy and have a look at it. If, as is actually the case, the extant budget shows in black and white that the vehicles in question were not expunged from the approved budget then either the House or the Minister’s spokespersons, or both, still have something to tell us. If indeed there is in the budget the two security vehicles as duly approved at the cost of N70 million each, then, again, we should ask who is speaking in tongues. The two BMW vehicles as appropriated by the National Assembly in the 2013 budget can be found in Item 6. Whodunit!

But, let’s get real! Assuming that the Aviation budget actually shows an approval for the purchase of the two vehicles, why did the Minister increase the price and approve a figure invented by heaven knows who? Is N140 million the same as N255 million? Besides the question of holding the Minister to account, and even to ransom, for this we should ask who taught her the type of financial arithmetic being paraded. Such a mischievous fellow should be quietly arrested and locked up for the good of other potential victims of curious financial calculations.

But, again, let us go to the records. Civil servants can easily give you the copies, even if some creative book keeping has been attempted since the controversy broke. All details of the Ministry’s own records relating to this controversial transaction shows that the Minister approved the purchase of these two vehicles for a total sum of N140 million. This approval was not reviewed at any time. There was also no request for any such review by either the agency or any of its partners on the matter. There was neither any recourse to the Minister on new variations nor any indication that such variation or alternative prices was directed, granted or suggested. In sum, the Aviation Minister approved the purchase of the vehicles at the price approved by the National Assembly – and as reflected in the budget.

Now, that is the limit, wouldn’t you say. This is quite a spin! But please check the records. A lease, or hire purchase agreement that allows the Ministry to pay for its projected needs over a 36 months period and negotiations between the purchasing agency and its business partners need serious interrogation here. What really happened and why? Who discussed what and what terms led to the now-advertised figures that are clearly too scary to merit calm repetition.

Which brings us to yet another matter of whether or not the Minister of Aviation took custody of the vehicles under reference and used same personally. If she took possession of the vehicles, or has been using them, then all the fine tales about this matter must be put down to reprehensible grammatical summersaults. But, again, let us go back to the records. Is it true that the Ministry and its agencies have Assets Registers? If yes, do the records show that the procurement of the BMW cars was an acquisition of the main Ministry? Again, is it true that government agencies take inventory of facilities, as well materials usage- especially as it pertains to vehicles and movable assets? If yes, is there evidence that the controversial vehicles have a movement chart and history suggesting or indicating conclusively that the Minister is the beneficiary of the procurement?
‘They have gone to forge new papers’ and similar comments are bound to follow the foregoing thoughts. But given the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) approved by the National Assembly as a planning tool, and which allows government agencies to plan while complying with Section 80 (4) of the 1999 Constitution (as Amended), that prohibits the spending of monies from any fund of the Federation except as appropriated by the National Assembly, it is open to argument whether there is any real issue here. The NCAA planned for the acquisition of vehicles for the next three years within the MTEF through a lease financing arrangement with First Bank Plc. The NCAA’s obligation to First Bank Plc is N23 million per month, for a span of 36 months.

One is truly at a loss on the many-sided tales about this controversy, for the simple reason that those who spoke and tried to clarify matters not only had different tales, but actually compounded the issues they set out to clarify. As regulator of the industry, the NCAA, routinely plays host to dignitaries from ICAO, IATA, US FAA, AFRAA, AFCAC, BAG, CANSO, ACI and several others. Nigeria has attained the coveted Category One certification of the U.S FAA, is a member of the ICAO Council and is also poised to shortly emerge President of the ICAO Council. The outgoing president and incoming president of ICAO will be in Nigeria on December 6, 2013, along with many other international aviation top notchers.

My take is that the Aviation Ministry is too shy to admit some aspects of the reasons why it went for those vehicles. With kidnapping and bombing afoot and gaining in sophistication, I can understand the position of anyone who does not want to risk adding to Nigeria’s negative image via an untoward event in the event of high profile visits that may involve trips to several airports in Nigeria. It is fairly obvious that Nigeria’s emergence as a member of the General Council has increased the expectations in international aviation, even more so the likely emergence of a Nigerian as the President of the General Council.

On matters of due process and what not, the House is expecting the Minister to come and answer some questions. But the last is not yet heard of this. As Special Assistant to the Minister of Information I intercepted an attempt to install a new door for the Minister at the cost of over N700,000. The job was eventually done for N49,000. Then there was the attempt to carry out the post-production of a film for N26 million. The file had nearly sailed through, until the Minister insisted on seeing a copy of his alleged approval that was being quoted in over 15 memos. Whodunit! Let’s go for the facts.

 

———————————–

 

Read this article in the Thisday Newspapers

 

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija