By SaharaReporters, New York
The House of Representatives Committee on Aviation has ordered Aviation Minister Stella Oduah to appear before it by next Tuesday when its investigation into the armoured car scandal in the Ministry will come to an end.
The order came after the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry said Mrs. Oduah had left for Israel to sign a bilateral air agreement and would not return before Tuesday. Mrs. Oduah travelled out on Monday night ahead of President Goodluck Jonathan who set up a probe panel to investigate her within two weeks.
[b]The committee also confirmed at its ongoing investigative hearing in Abuja that there was no budgetary approval for the cars for the Minister. A proposal for the two cars by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) was specifically rejected, it said, even when the agency proposed to buy them for N70million each.
It would be recalled that the NCAA said it received approval from the Minister to purchase the two cars at the considerably higher cost of N255 million.
In another stunning development, the committee said the NCAA had gone ahead and bought 54 vehicles when approval was given for only 25.
With reference to Mrs. Oduah’s testimony at the hearing, the committee declared that she must appear even if she has to arrive by chartered flight.
Members of the committee also dismissed aviation ministry officials, led by the permanent secretary, who was to represent the minister, saying they lacked relevance to the hearing. They said they would only accept a presentation from the NCAA whose director was present.
The chair of the committee, Nkiruka Onyejeocha, said the committee wanted independent presentation from the NCAA, making all others surplus to requirements.
[/b] Mrs. Oduah is being investigated over the controversial purchase of two armoured BMW cars for N255 million by the NCAA at her request. President Goodluck Jonathan who subsequently set up a three-man panel to probe the deal recently queried her.
Yesterday, it emerged that she will be with Mr. Jonathan conducting officisl business during his visits in Israel.
In the 2013 budget approved by the National Assembly, under which NCAA was supposed to have purchased 25 cars, the agency said they were needed to inspect airport perimeter fences.

Awakulowo1: I don't know why my brother allowed himself to be used by this ibo woman. No Yoruba man or woman will pity you if the tables turn against you. We don't care if this case consume you.

abacus: Where are the #Ste(aler)llaMustStay people..

Awakulowo1: I don't know why my brother allowed himself to be used by this ibo woman. No Yoruba man or woman will pity you if the tables turn against you. We don't care if this case consume you.

luvmijeje: Agreed, that PDP is useless but what about the opposition in the NA, are they also useless? I'm really disappointed in their approach to their duties.

fkaz:

Fola Akinkoutu was not involved in the purchase of the vehicle. He has said it time without number, he was appointed 27th of june 2013. The transaction was carried out under the ACTING DG in person of Mr. Joyce Nkemakolam. after the sack of Dr. Harold Demuren

ballabriggs: So the house rejected a budget of N70 million on this vehicle, yet these people went ahead to spend N112 million on the same vehicle.

These people are wicked, these people are hardened criminals, these people are devilish.

She will not say the truth as she is a hardened criminal. The only way to make her say the truth is to bring Sergeant Rogers to torture her.

abu12: Come 2015 sai APC

Sai buhari

fyneguy:

What in the article makes the NA appear useless?

fkaz:
In the 2013 budget approved by the National Assembly, under which NCAA was supposed to have purchased 25 cars, the agency said they were needed to inspect airport perimeter fence
c

0lumide:

This or let us go our separate ways! NO MORE NIGERIA AS LONG AS PDP WANTS TO HOLD ON TO POWER.

0lumide:

This or let us go our separate ways! NO MORE NIGERIA AS LONG AS PDP WANTS TO HOLD ON TO POWER.

DerideGull:


Nigerians will not be discussing this arrant nonsense today if your forbearers were wiser than a domesticated monkey.

DerideGull:


You have left trail of disappointments throughout the discussions on this BMW saga procured by NCAA for ministry of aviation. It is unfortunate you had it all wrong when lamented about the absence of tender board only to find out there was one. I am not surprised to see you jumping like a drunkard over the alleged itemization of the budget when there is none. If the ministry’s budget was itemized, I challenged the SaharaReporters and the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation to inform the general public other items the committee rejected on the 2013 ministry of aviation budget.

0lumide:

And if you father was smarter than a tape warm, you won't be alive today

ballabriggs:

Dede aturu, at your age you should be the one condemning theft. However what I see in you are the features of a hardened criminal.

Where did you see the evidence that a request for bids was duly advertised? Where is the evidence that the board of NCAA sat and approved the contract?