N255m SCANDAL: This Is My Story ––By Stella Oduah

The embattled
Aviation Minister, Stella
Oduah appeared before
the House of Reps
Committee investigating
all the issues relating to
the N255m cars scandal.
Below is her defence:
1.1 Let me first and
foremost apologise for my
inability to honour your
invitation to appear before
you on the last day the
public hearing held. My
non appearance was not
borne out of disrespect to
this Honourable House.
Let me also thank the
Honourable Committee for
rescheduling my
appearance to today.
1.2 The invitation to
appear before this
Honourable Committee
was brought to my
attention while I was on
national assignment far
away in the State of Israel
to conclude negotiations
and sign a Bilateral Air
Service Agreement
(BASA) on behalf of our
dear country (but she
never signed the
agreement).
I received the invitation
with gratitude to God
because of the promise of
the opportunity it would
afford me for Nigerians,
and indeed the whole
world, to hear my own
side of the story.
1.3 In her 12-page
presentation, Princess
Oduah said, “In the last
few weeks, I have
received all sorts of
bashings in the media. So
many persons have also
risen to my defense. My
traducers have abused
me, some of them out of
a genuine sense of
outrage that I allegedly
spent the sum of USD1.6
Million of government
funds to purchase for
myself 2 nos bullet proof
BMW Cars for my
personal use while
millions of Nigerians are
unable to afford three
square meals daily.
“You may recall that there
have been attempts to
clarify issues pertaining to
this particular
procurement. You will
also recall that in the
process some of the
issues were further
muddled up.
I mention in this regard
the first attempt at
clarifying the issue by the
Coordinating
Spokesperson for the
Parastatals who, without
recourse to the Minister or
the Principal Officers of
the Ministry and its
Agencies described the
information as a mere
rumour.
“This was followed by the
statement of my S.A
Media who was himself
guided by his own
perception of the duties
and challenges of the
office of the Minister and
possibly, even the danger
to the person and office of
the Minister.
This is made evident by
the fact that his statement
focused on the personal
security of the Minister
without recourse to the
procurement process and
policy file to which he did
not have access; hence a
statement that the
procurement was for the
“safety and security of the
Honourable Minister
whom he said was facing
some imminent threats to
her life on account of the
reforms in the sector”.
“The last official
intervention in this matter
came from the Director
General of NCAA, the
agency charged with the
oversight of the aviation
sector and the agency
that actually undertook
the procurement.
Whereas the DG was right
in saying that the vehicles
were not bought for the
Minister, the anticipated
positive effect of this
correct piece of
information was marred
by remarks credited to the
DG suggesting that the
agency was more
concerned about issues of
administration and
information security that
had no bearing on this
issue. In this regard, we
must bear in mind that the
DG was very likely guided
by the provisions of the
Official Secret Act but
which I make bold to state
before you must not take
precedent over the
Freedom of Information
Act or the powers of the
National Assembly under
Sections 88 and 89 of the
Constitution.
Let me therefore state
finally concerning the
above and for the records
that there was no attempt
at anytime to either
deliberately mislead the
public or conceal any
information regarding this
transaction; and also to
formally apologise for
whatever tension or
perception of same as a
result of the foregoing. On
that note therefore, I stand
before you as the Minister
of Aviation, a citizen of
Nigeria and one of your
constituents and affirm
the foregoing
clarifications.
“The second category of
my traducers are the
entrenched interests in the
aviation sector who, for
over 38 years have held
the sector by the jugular
and refused to allow any
meaningful development
and change take place.
For the over 38 years that
our airports were a
damning commentary on
our status as part of the
civilized world; or when
our airspace existed
without the requisite
navigational equipments
and facilities to make the
airspace safe; these
category of persons saw
no evil and heard no evil
while they happily clapped
their ways to the banks!
This group has carried on
with bitter venom, ..
throwing decency and
honour overboard, lying
and misleading the
Nigerian populace even
when they knew the truth
because my team and I
changed the game in
favour of Nigeria attaining
her pride of place in the
comity of nations.
“It is for the first category,
the Nigerian people who
have acted out of a
genuine sense of
patriotism, that I seize
this opportunity with both
hands to let the world
know the truth
surrounding this matter.
For the second category,
that is the entrenched,
corrupt and profligate
individuals and entities
who have caused the
serious rot in the aviation
sector, I owe no
apologies; all I owe them
is to further inform them
that the current generation
has seen through them
and are no longer willing
to tolerate their antics.
“Honourable Chairman,
my initial enthusiasm was
almost doused when I
became aware of what
transpired when the
Permanent Secretary of
the Federal Ministry of
Aviation appeared before
this Honourable
Committee as my
representative, with a
letter conveying my
regards and requesting to
present the position of the
Federal Ministry of
Aviation. I have it on good
authority that after his
appeal and the
presentation of my letter,
he was, in the words of
some newspaper
headlines, “walked out of
the House”
“I do not know why the
Honourable Committee
acted in the manner it did,
knowing that the
Permanent Secretary is a
bona fide Nigerian citizen
and therefore entitled to
observe the proceedings
of his representatives
assembled in parliament
like any other citizen,
more so when the matters
being discussed at a
“public hearing” are of
interest to him. I
wondered why this
Honourable Committee did
what it did: Was there an
agenda to harass, cow
and intimidate me and
ensure that I am unable to
state my own side of the
story fearlessly? I
wondered whether some
persons were afraid of the
truth being told as it is. ” -
“I believe that the
Honourable House
harbours no such agenda.
I believe that it was one
of those moments when,
the false accusations and
my trial in the media, had
affected the sense of
outrage of the Honourable
members as citizens of
our great nation.. Fortified
in this knowledge of the
fairness of this
Committee, I prepared my
presentation knowing that
the Honourable Committee
will continue to treat me
fairly and afford me the
opportunity to present it
to the Nigerir people
without let or hindrance.
My humble appeal is that
the Honourable Committee
will discountenance the
blatant falsehoods that
have been peddled
against me in the media
and patiently hear my side
of the story.
The Allegations Against
Me
“Honourable Chairman, as
you are all aware, what
necessitated this public
hearing were the events
that followed a false and
malicious online publica—
tion that I compelled the
NCAA to purchase for me
2 nos BMW bullet proof
cars at the cost of
USD1.6 Million. Let me
state emphatically from
the onset that the
allegation against me
concerning the purchase
of 2 nos bulletproof cars
for me by the Nigerian
Civil Aviation Authority
(NCAA) is false in its
entirety.
“Your Honours, ladies and
gentlemen, our nation is
at a cross road in its
history. The
transformation agenda of
Mr. President has
changed our ways of
doing things significantly.
Mr. President recognized
the infrastructural deficit
in our nation and has
taken very bold steps to
address this and in order
to bequeath to the next
generation a nation that
can compete favourably
in the comity of nations
and imbue our next
generation with pride and
patriotism.
“The massive investment
and the aggressive
prosecution of this
agenda in this regard
have seen the aviation
sector being transformed.
Today, 22 Airports owned
by the Federal
Government are at various
stages of becoming
decent and world class
terminals. Nigeria’s
airspace has become one
of the safest in the world
with the deployment of
modern navigational
equipments and
infrastructures. The
oversight capacity of the
whole sector
has been strengthened
with the relevant
regulations in place and
the training and retraining
of personnel. Our National
Aviation Policy has been
reviewed to chart the path
to a safer and secure
aviation sector. The plan
to make Nigeria have a
national carrier is at an
advanced stage of
implementation. The
pursuit of an aviation
sector that is self
sustaining is being
pursued with all
aggression and vigour.
“All the efforts to L ing
change to the aviation
sector have been resisted
with vigour by the
entrenched interests that
have been ripping off the
nation. We have had to
put our foot down in the
national interest and
stopped the rape of our
national patrimony. We
have had to confront
frontally very powerful
forces that have held the
sector hostage. My team
and I are not people who
will see things going very
wrong, fold our arms and
complain and not lift a
finger to do anything. We
dared to act, convinced
that it was in the national
interest to do so.
“We are not at our
destination yet, but
Nigerians who are
witnesses to the rot of
yesteryears are now proud
of their nation seeing
what is going on in the
aviation sector. What we
are doing in the sector,
together with the effort in
other equally important
sectors, have given hope
to the mass of our people
that we can do
something, apart from
complaining, about the
decay in our national
life. ;
“In doing what we have
done, the purveyors of the
rot and corruption that
have characterized the
sector have at no time
folded their arms. They
have fought back every
inch of the way. The
latest false and wicked
allegation of purchase of
2 nos bulletproof cars for
me by the NCAA is
another of the fabrications
in their arsenal of lies to
discredit my team and
make our reformation of
the sector lack credibility
in the hope that that will
clear the coast for them to
return to their wicked old
ways. But we have only
one message for this
group: The Nigerian
people now know better
and will no longer tolerate
them!
“ Matters Arising from the
Lease Financing
Arrangement for
Operational Vehicles by
the NCAA
Did the NCAA Spend
Monies Not Approved by
the Appropriation Act,
2013?
Honourable Chairman, the
NCAA, as a result of the
daily interaction with the
law in its regulatory and
enforcement roles, is at all
times and in all matters
conscious of its
obligations of complying
with the law and all extant
rules and regulations of
the Government. The
NCAA is therefore
conscious of its
obligations relating in
particular to appropriation
and will never spend
monies that have not
been appropriated by the
National Assembly.
“It is in this regard,
therefore, that the NCAA,
within the framework of
the Medium Term
Expenditure Framework
(MTEF) approved by the
National Assembly as a
planning tool, planned its
budget with regard to
acquisition of operational
and other security and
safety vehicles for the
next three years in a
manner compliant with
Section 80 (4) of the
Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria, 1999
(as Amended), that
prohibits the spending of
monies from any fund of
the Federation except as
appropriated by the
National Assembly.
“The media has been
awash with the purported
spending of monies by the
NCAA to the tune of
USD1.6 million, N255
million and other figures
on the purchase of
vehicles by the NCAA.
Honourable Chairman, IT
IS NOT TRUE THAT THE
NCAA HAS SPENT SUCH
AMOUNT OF MONEY ON
PURCHASE OF VEHICLES,
It is also NOT TRUE THAT
THE NCAA HAS
PURCHASED 2
BULLETPROOF BMW
VEHICLES FOR THE
HONOURABLE MINISTER
OF AVIATION.
“Honourable members, as
pointed out above, what
the NCAA has done, is to
plan for the acquisition of
vehicles for the next three
years within the MTEF
through a LEASE
FINANCING
ARRANGEMENT with First
Bank of Nigeria, Pic.
Under this arrangement,
NCAA’s obligation to First
Bank of Nigeria, Pic is
N23 million monthly which
will be liquidated in 3
years (36 months). By the
end of the year 2013, the
total amount the NCAA
would have spent on the
acquisition of these
vehicles will be N116
Million only. This is below
the amount of N240
million appropriated by
the NASS for the purchase
of vehicles by NCAA in
the 2013 Appropriation
Act. What the NCAA has
done within the framework
of the MTEF and its desire
to be prudent, is to plan
its budget in a manner
that the cash flow of the
Authority
is a1″1′ to accommodate
spending effortlessly. The
relevant portion of the
Approved budget is
annexed as Annexure
FMA “1″.
Justification for the Lease
Financing of the 2 Nos
BMW Cars
“Honourable Chairman,
the NCAA owes its very
existence to the
benevolence and wisdom
of the National Assembly
expressed through the
making of the Nigerian
Civil Aviation Act, 2006.
As the regulator of the
entire aviation industry,
the NCAA, pursuant to
powers granted under the
Civil Aviation Act, 2006
makes and enforces
Regulations towards
ensuring safety and
security of Nigeria’s
airspace. The NCAA in
addition, plays a pivotal
role in carrying out
Nigeria’s international
obligations and
responsibilities.
“NCAA has done this with
distinction over the years
ensuring that Nigeria
currently has attained the
coveted Category One
certification of the U.S
FAA; Nigeria is currently a
member of the ICAO
Council with the strong
probability that a Nigerian
may emerge the President
of the ICAO Council in a
matter of days, hopefully
by the end of the month
of November, 2013 and on
the 6th of December,
2013, both the outgoing
President and incoming
President of ICAO will be
in Nigeria. The aggregate
of the various victories of
Nigeria in the international
arena, including the re-
election of Nigeria as a
non-permanent member
of the UN Security
Council, is that Nigeria is
increasingly readdressing
the negative perceptions
about our nation.
“The inadequacy and
unreliability of NCAA
existing operational
vehicles due to old age
and depreciation
necessitated the
acquisition of the new
ones. Furthermore, with
the appointment of a new
Director General,
Directors, General
Managers and other
Management Staff there
was the need for
additional operational and
service vehicles.
Moreover, the fact that
NCAA, as the regulator of
the industry, often plays
host to dignitaries from
ICAO, IATA, US FAA,
AFRAA, AFCAC, BAG,
CANSO, ACI and a host of
others made it imperative
to have various
specifications of
operational vehicles
including the purchase of
the 2 nos security/safety
vehicles. Certification is a
continuous exercise in
aviation and surveillance
is a part of the daily
operations of the NCAA.
“As pointed out above,
Nigeria is an important
player in ICAO circles and
Nigeria’s emergence as a
member of the General
Council has increased the
expectations in
international aviation.
Most importantly, the
expected emergence of a
Nigerian as the President
of the General Council of
ICAO will make Nigeria
one of the most
significant destinations for
actors in the international
aviation sector. This will
place additional burdens
on us as a nation.
“It is all these factors that
the NCAA considered in
planning for the
acquisition of the different
specifications of vehicles
through a Lease
Financing Arrangement.
The security challenges in
Nigeria today are known
to all and the efforts and
concern of government at
all levels towards tackling
this have been very
glaring. However, while
government is tackling the
matter, the impact of an
attack leading to the
death, kidnapping or other
injuries to international
aviation actors in
international circles will
simply be disastrous. In
addition, matters of
insecurity do not wait until
you have the resources to
fight them before they
occur. It requires
proactive interface and
preventive measures.
“The NCAA considered
that it will not be in the
interest of our nation if
the security issues above
were to occur and so
ought to be avoided at all
cost. The NCAA acted
with the highest patriotic
consideration within the
ambit of the Law and the
Constitution.
Did NCAA Purchase 2 Nos
Bulletproof Vehicles for
Me as the Honourable
Minister of Aviation?
“Honourable members,
another falsehood in the
public domain relating to
this Lease Financing
Arrangement is that the
NCAA purchased two
bulletproof vehicles for me
as the Honourable
Minister of Aviation. This
is TOTALLY FALSE. The 2
nos security/safety BMW
vehicles which the NCAA
acquired are for security
and safety as
appropriated by the NASS
in the 2013 budget in Item
6. The title documents
which are in the names of
NCAA/FIRST BANK PLC,
as well as spare keys of
all the vehicles purchased
under the lease financing
arrangement are currently
with First Bank of Nigeria,
Pic as is the case with
such arrangements and
best practice.
“Honourable Chairman, in
addressing the issue of
authorization by the NASS
as contained in Item 6 of
the budget, we invite your
honours to consider the
narration. In the narration,
your honours will observe
that the 2 nos security/
safety vehicles are
provided for distinctively.
They are separate from
the other vehicles listed.
The legislative process,
including the process of
appropriation, involves a
lot of explanations by the
beneficiaries of legislative
powers in that regard, but
when the explanations
eventually find merit and
is passed, all that
happened preceding the
passage of the Law
cannot be the basis of
any meaningful
discussion.
“There was nothing in the
approved documents
reflecting my name, when
the budget was being
made. At no time did I
ever request for any
vehicle from the NCAA. It
was the agency that had
the need and made the
request to the Federal
Ministry of Aviation. After
the purchase on a 3 year
Lease Financing
arrangement, the vehicles
were never delivered to
me. The vehicles were
also not registered in my
name but that of the
agency.
“Your Honours, I draw
attention to this fact
because of the erroneous
belief in some quarters
that, because in the
course of the NCAA
defending its budget
proposal for 2013, it had
to return to the NASS a
few times to explain their
proposal, therefore the
purchase was never
appropriated. That is false
as the budget is before
the Nigerian people and
as pointed out, 2 nos
security/safety vehicles
were appropriated by the
NASS.
“Honourable Chairman, on
the procurement
procedure for the lease
arrangement for the
acquisition of the
vehicles, let me reiterate
that the NCAA followed
the due process required
by law. As we gather here
today, there exist no
guidelines issued by the
Bureau for Public
Procurement (BPP) on
lease financing
arrangements. Despite
this lacuna occasioned by
the absence of such a
guideline, the NCAA
followed the due process
by involving all the Banks
in Nigeria. The Federal
Ministry of Aviation under
my watch has always
been mindful of the need
to ensure that we act in a
prudent manner and
within the ambit of the law
and this can be testified
to by the tremendous
transformation that has
occurred in the sector in
the last 2 years.
Specifically, I wish to
draw the attention of the
Honourable Committee
to the procedure adopted
by the NCAA in procuring
the operational
vehicles: *On the 15tl] of
April, 2013 an official
letter was written by the
NCAA requesting for
approval to procure
operational vehicles
through Lease Financing.
The NCAA’s letter is
annexed herein as
Anncxure FMA
*On the 25th of April,
2013 approval was
conveyed to NCAA for
the acquisition of
operational vehicles
through Lease Financing,
The letter annexed is
Annexure FMA “3″.
*On the strength of the
above letter of approval,
the NCAA got the list of
all Banks in Nigeria on
7th May, 2013 and
circulated a Request for
Expression of Interest on
the financing of the lease.
The letters to all the
Banks requesting for
Expression of Interest
(EOI) are annexed as
Annexures FMA “4 – 22″.
*On 24th May, 2013 the
Request for Expression of
Interest (EOI) was publicly
opened. Three Banks
submitted proposals.
*The Evaluation of the
Expression of Interests
was held on 31^ May,
2013 during which First
Bank Pic, Union Bank Pic
and Stanbic IBTC
responded.
*On the 10th June, 2013
the above three banks
were invited to submit
Financial Proposals.
Thereafter, First Bank of
Nigeria, Pic emerged the
highest rated responsive
bidder.
*Between 20th and 25th
June, 2013 NCAA received
invoices from various
accredited motor vehicle
dealers during which only
Coscharis Motors Limited
quoted for BMW
Bulletproof Vehicles.
Copies of the invoices are
attached as Annexure
FMA “23 – 42″. ;
*On 28th June, 2013
NCAA Parastatal Tenders
Board approved the
selection of First Bank of
Nigeria, Pic for the Lease
Financing as well as
Metropolitan Motor
Vehicles and Coscharis
for the supply of the
vehicles. This approval
was predicated on the due
process documentations
done by the NCAA.
*On 1st July, 2013 the
NCAA sought the approval
based on the invoices and
the final negotiations with
the financing Banks.
*Based on the outcome of
the negotiations as
contained in the invoices
from the Banks, on 5th
July, 2013 the approval of
the Federal Ministry of
Aviation was conveyed to
NCAA. The letters dated
5th July, 2013 is annexed
as Annexure FMA “43″.
*I am aware that between
8th July, 2013 to 12th
August, 2013 various
meetings were held with
First Bank of Nigeria, Pic
and necessary
documentations were
carried out A copy of the
Letter of Offer of Credit
Facility containing the
terms of the relationship
dated 30th July, 2013 is
attached as Annexure
FMA “44″.
*On 13th August, 2013
the suppliers of the
vehicles were contacted
at the instance of First
Bank of Nigeria, Pic.
The Honourable
Committee may wish to
confirm that the NCAA
sent out Expression of
Interest (EOIs) to the
following banks (22
banks):
Conclusion
Honourable Chairman and
members, we have made
all of these explanations
because we believe that
the essence of this
hearing is to confirm
whether we acted
responsibly and in the
best interest of our nation
and within the framework
of the Constitution and the
Law. We believe that all of
this is meant to make our
nation and her citizens
have the best value for
whatever money is
appropriated and spent. It
is in this belief and our
duty under the Law and
the Constitution that we
have placed all materials
involved in this
transaction before you in
order that you may be
able to arrive at a fair and
just determination in the
larger interest of our
people.
“We reiterate that NCAA
has not spent any money
not appropriated by the
National Assembly.
Indeed what they have
spent so far on ALL the
vehicles acquired through
the Lease Financing
Arrangement with First
Bank of Nigeria Pic is
N52,000,000.00 (Fifty Two
Million Naira only). By so
doing, they have saved
the nation cost and the
possible embarrassment
that may arise if the
events we have pointed
out earlier were to occur.
“We further reiterate that
the NCAA DID NOT
purchase 2 nos bullet
proof vehicles for me as
the Honourable Minister of
Aviation. We reiterate that
the NCAA purchased 2
nos security vehicles for
the operations of the
NCAA in line with monies
approved for the NCAA
under the Appropriated
Act passed by the
National Assembly."
Thank you for the
opportunity afforded me to
make this presentation
and for your patience in
listening to us.