Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah
The car contract was not listed in the budget and was not openly tendered for, in violation of government laws
If
Nigeria’s anti-corruption authorities would, for once, punish violators
of federal budget and procurement laws, then aviation ministry
officials involved in a scandalous purchase of two armour-plated BMW
vehicles at an inflated cost of N225 million, would be facing charges
leading from three to 10 years in jail.
PREMIUM TIMES can authoritatively report
today that the multimillion contract that has sparked anger across the
country was never listed or approved in any government budget as
required by law, neither was it openly advertised or bided for.
The contract was not listed in the
budget by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, the agency
compelled by the minister to make the purchase; and was not listed by
the Federal Airport Authority, FAAN or Nigerian Airspace Management
Agency, NAMA.
The ministry’s own budget too, had no plan to purchase any car for the minister, or other officials.
Spending public funds on unbudgeted
projects attracts three years in jail and a fine of N100, 000 the
Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences law stipulates.
Also, contracts involving public funds
without due procurement processes- basically open advertising and
bidding- draws a minimum of five years, and a maximum of 10 years in
jail, the Public Procurement law says.
A spokesperson for the Independent
Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Commission, Folu Olamiti, said
the anti-graft body would make its position on the matter known later. A
representative for the Bureau of Public Procurement, said the “law was
clear” on this case. He did not want to be named because he was not
authorized to speak.
After its initial denial of a contract
that has shocked a nation with majority of its population poor, the
ministry of aviation, on Sunday, admitted that two reinforced BMW sedans
had been purchased for Mrs Oduah at the total cost of N255 million, a
sum enough to deliver at least five of such cars.
Joe Obi, Special Assistant on Media to
the Minister, said the cars were to protect Mrs Oduah from “imminent
threats” bred by the minister’s purported radical reforms in the
aviation industry, the Punch newspaper reported.
“When she came on board as the minister,
she inherited a lot of baggage in terms of concession and lease
agreements in the sector, which were clearly not in the interest of the
government and people of Nigeria,” Mr Obi said.
“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 imminent threats to her life; therefore,
the need for the vehicles.”
Mr. Obi did not elaborate on the
processes leading to the procurement of the cars, whether it followed
due process or not; or why the minister chose to mandate an agency under
her supervision to deliver the cars, or still, why the contract was
directly awarded to Coscharis Motors-the company that supplied the cars-
in breach of government procurement laws.
But PREMIUM TIMES has confirmed that the
agency’s budget, which is not usually open to the National Assembly for
appropriation, had no provision for a car, or more, for the minister.
This paper has also established why the
aviation minister, Mrs Oduah, possibly opted for the NCAA, out of the
six offices under her regulation, to bankroll the exotic vehicles.
NCAA’s secrecy
Of the six offices
under the ministry, NCAA is the only fully self-sustaining organization
with no kobo provided by the government for its operation.
All the funds used by NCAA are
internally-generated, from charges on airlines, passengers and fines
etc, as stipulated by the Civil Aviation law, setting it up. The FAAN
and NAMA, are also as revenue generating agencies.
Government agencies under such
arrangement, illegally spend their revenues without the approval of the
National Assembly, and usually refuse to disclose their budgets.
Although believed to be in hundreds,
offices officially listed by the government in the Fiscal Responsibility
Act as revenue-generating total 31. They include big spenders such as
Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and the Nigeria National Petroleum
Corporation, NNPC.
With the title, comes a somewhat
self-imposed privilege of maintaining secret budgets, in the belief that
since they source their own funding, they should not be appropriated
for.
That claim has irked Senators and House
of Representatives members for years, and the lawmakers have repeatedly
threatened not to pass federal budget until the 31 agencies make open
their spending proposals yearly.
The legislators accuse the agencies of
violating the constitution and the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which
makes it mandatory for all spending be approved by the National
Assembly.
The two arms of the National Assembly are currently pushing amendments to compel the 31 agencies to make their budgets public.
It is the secrecy that has predictably
helped NCAA and others spend freely with little or no oversight,
lawmakers say, making the NCAA the likely choice for the controversial
and unapproved car purchase contract.
Between 2009 and 2012, the agency raised
N35.3 billion, and spent all of that on its internal needs, according
to the National Assembly Budget and Research Office.
The research office predicted that NCAA will raise N10.6 billion in 2013, and if allowed, will fritter all on operational cost.
The cars purchased for the minister came from the 2013 revenue.
PremiumTimes
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