Chairman, Board of Industrial Training Fund (ITF) and Nigeria’s former High Commissioner to Ghana, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, has berated the Nigerian media for beaming its searchlight on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the expense of what is going on in All Progressives Congress, APC-controlled states,
particularly, Lagos. Obanikoro, a former PDP governorship
aspirant in Lagos State, said that while the media blew corruption cases involving the ruling party out of proportion, it failed to highlight an even higher level of corruption going on at the states controlled by APC. Speaking with select journalists at the weekend, Obanikoro, who stressed that the PDP-led Federal Government had been fighting corruption since 1999, and is leading the way in terms of accountability and transparency in governance, described Lagos State as a cesspool of corruption. According to him: “What is good about the federal level is that whatever the people of the country complained about, we don’t hide them nor put them in the closet. We are dealing with them; people are being arrested and put in jail. “Tell me, how many local government chairmen or councilors have they tried for corruption or put behind bars since 1999 that they have been managing affairs of this state? There is a cesspool of corruption in Lagos state from any angle you may look at it”, he added. On the N255 million bullet proof cars scandal rocking the aviation ministry, Obanikoro said: “Oh yes! Accusation has been made in the open. Panels have been set up to look into the matter and the president has received the report. I am sure in good time; he would come out with a position. Be that as it may, nobody can sweep under the carpet what PDP had done to tackle corruption. Their party has not done anything. That is what we are saying.
Everything they have accused us of doing, they are worse off. “They accused Stella Oduah of buying two armoured cars for N255 million. The one the Lagos state governor is riding up and down is more expensive than Oduah’s cars. He is a public officer too who draws his salary from tax payer’s money. “It is the same standard, it doesn’t matter. It is
even more damning for the governor because he is elected by the people and he is supposed to uphold the trust and confidence of the people of Lagos. So, their own is even worse in that case but it is unfortunate the media refuse to look at that area. I am in the know of the cost but I am putting it to you to do the investigation on the cost of those two jeeps which our governor uses as official car”, the former senator said.
SOURCE

story
fashola is spending Lagos money, and we the aboriginal lagosians are not lamenting. not federal govt money like Stella oduah! case closed!


and just in case it makes homepage/ front page.....
I am highly honoured by God to be the first to comment on this issue. so I forbid anyone to say anything negative about the original 'face of good governance' in africa, babatunde raji fashola

[size=14pt]Our media is so biased. Fashola bought those two bulletproof tinted range rover SUV's for 300m naira each.

Our South West media refused to report it but instead concentrated solely on Oduah and expected her kinsmen in South East to keep quiet. Tribalism is our biggest problem.[/size]

What is he trying to prove now? By the way,I thought this Stella Oduah's case had been sent to an early grave?

Hypocrisy opposition and their deluded followers will naturally shy away from any corruption scandal rocking their backyard and their e-touts will rush and defend them but by far the greatest accomplice to these fraudsters claiming saints is the media. Today's journalists especially in the print media are highly jaundiced and are employed to pen down whatever their political masters and employers dictate to them.

Danhumprey: What is he trying to prove now? By the way,I thought this Stella Oduah's case had been sent to an early grave?

There is nothing to prove but just a subtle reminder of how deluded and brainwashed with tribal and ethno-religious sentiments the blind zombies that keep supporting Theifnibu's fraud arrangement are.

lekkie073: story

Dummy.

lekkie073: story

no be story nah dream. go back to sleep

pele

Goddex: [size=14pt]Our media is so biased. Fashola bought those two bulletproof tinted range rover SUV's for 300m naira each.

Our South West media refused to report it but instead concentrated solely on Oduah and expected her kinsmen in South East to keep quiet. Tribalism is our biggest problem.[/size]

what do you expect from media houses that earn their living from Tinubu

^^^

You have started.

When they turn the heat on you, you will run and snitch like the b1tch you are to the MODs

Perhaps you guys screaming should show us invoices and receipts that those cars are that expensive.

Besides what you people fail to get is that the corruption case against Oduah is not about the prices alone. The cars were not approved by the government, it was not budgeted for, they evaded taxes, lied to the SSS/NSA and inflated prices.

Mynd_44: Perhaps you guys screaming should show us invoices and receipts that those cars are that expensive.

Besides what you people fail to get is that the corruption case against Oduah is not about the prices alone. The cars were not approved by the government, it was not budgeted for, they evaded taxes, lied to the SSS/NSA and inflated prices.

The LASG obviously inflated the Cars and that is how we know of the actually figure being paid for the cars.

Stella's case is only different that the cars were not captured in the fiscal budget so what you have in terms of the LASG is instituted corruption with the House acting as rubber stamp.

On one side you have a cover up while in the other you have broad daylight robbery and you are still supporting these criminals claiming saints .

Goddex: [size=14pt]Our media is so biased. Fashola bought those two bulletproof tinted range rover SUV's for 300m naira each.

Our South West media refused to report it but instead concentrated solely on Oduah and expected her kinsmen in South East to keep quiet. Tribalism is our biggest problem.[/size]

It is a lie , I heard from a reliable source, that each car cost 1.985Billion, that is 3.97Billion naira for the two. That the cars are gold plated.

Fashola is a thief Obanikoro is a saint!

Obanikoro wey we no dey hear him voice....4 lagos...himcome dey talk nonsense....dey bring area boys 4 election

Bishop Juice:

The LASG obviously inflated the Cars and that is how we know of the actually figure being paid for the cars.

Stella's case is only different that the cars were not captured in the fiscal budget so what you have in terms of the LASG is instituted corruption with the House acting as rubber stamp.

On one side you have a cover up while in the other you have broad daylight robbery and you are still supporting these criminals claiming saints .

Please show me the invoice and receipts and then we can start condemning people. Before that, I maintain my stance

Bishop Juice:

The LASG obviously inflated the Cars and that is how we know of the actually figure being paid for the cars.

Stella's case is only different that the cars were not captured in the fiscal budget so what you have in terms of the LASG is instituted corruption with the House acting as rubber stamp.

On one side you have a cover up while in the other you have broad daylight robbery and you are still supporting these criminals claiming saints .

Proof or STFU!!!

BTW, Governor Fashola is nt fighting corruption in d state, ridding two jeeps each cost #300m. I know when his tenure ended someone "ll probe him.

Clerverly:

It is a lie , I heard from a reliable source, that each car cost 985Millin, that is 1.97Billion naira for the two. That the cars are gold plated.

Fashola is a thief

Stella Oduah In Fresh Trouble; N255m Armored Cars Missing In NSA’s security List-Premium Times




By Monday Ateboh

Suspicion that Aviation Minister Stella Oduah might not have actually procured the controversial N255million armoured cars is gaining traction in the nation’s security circle, with operatives trying to understand whether the minister merely masterminded a paper process to launder public funds.

PREMIUM TIMES can authoritatively report today that the bullet-proof cars are not on government’s official list of armoured cars available anywhere in the country.

Car dealers as well as end users of reinforced cars such as those Mrs. Oduah claimed to have procured to ward off “imminent threats”, are mandated to seek authorization from the office of the National Security Adviser, NSA, before ordering or importing such vehicles into Nigeria.

Under that regulation, no car dealer or end user, including private individuals, security agencies, and government parastatals can bring in armoured cars into the country without obtaining end user certificates from the office of the NSA in Abuja.

But reliable sources at the office of the NSA told PREMIUM TIMES no authorization certificate was ever issued to either Minister Oduah or the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, to procure the controversial vehicles.

“We have thoroughly checked our list and I can confirm that at no time did we issue end user certificate to anyone to procure any such cars,” one of our sources said. “It is likely the cars do not exist and that the documents were either forged to steal public funds. But if the cars indeed exist, the minister, the NCAA and Coscharis Motors will have to explain why they sneaked vehicles into our country without authorization.

“It is a serious violation, and the minister and other people involved have a lot of explanations to make.”

Another source said the the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, was appointed into the three-member administrative panel appointed by President Goodluck Jonathan to probe the procurement of the cars specifically to determine whether the purchase of the vehicles did not breach Nigeria’s security regulations.

Contacted Thursday over the matter, Mr. Dasuki said he would not comment on any aspect of his committee’s work because he is not the chairman of the panel.

“My office is only serving as the committee’s secretariat,” Mr. Dasuki said. “I am not the chairman. And you have to wait for us to complete our work. The question you asked (whether end user certificate was issued for the vehicles) is one of the issues we will look into.”

Although the NSA was evasive, top officials of his office told this newspaper that an internal review had long established that the controversial Stella Oduah’s cars are not on the lists of armoured cars known to the authorities.

This new finding raises more doubt as to whether the cars were procured reinforced, a reason the aviation ministry cited for the alarming cost of the automobiles, or whether the cars were even bought at all.

There are suggestions the ministers and the NCAA prepared the documents in circulation to cover up the looting of public funds.

That suggestion is strengthened by the refusal of the NCAA and the minister to allow PREMIUM TIMES access to inspect the cars despite initially claiming the vehicles were open to viewing by interested journalists.

The purchase of the cars have also been found to violate Nigeria’s appropriation and procurement laws: the transaction was neither in government budget nor was it advertised or openly bided for. The contract cost is also believed to have been inflated multiple folds.

Together, the violations have added to widespread outrage over the relevance of a multimillion car purchase when majority of Nigerians cannot feed. Still, a more distressing possibility could be that the cars were never purchased, and the deal was only sealed on paper as a cover for money laundering.

The ministry of aviation and the NCAA, the agency directed by Mrs Oduah to make the purchase for her, claim the two BMW sedans were bought steel-clad to keep Mrs Oduah safe from “imminent threats”.

The NCAA director general, Fola Akinkuotu, said the practice of using reinforced cars for conveying aviation ministers and foreign aviation dignitaries-who he said were also beneficiaries of the cars-was a standard global practice.

Amid mounting calls for Mrs Oduah’s removal, and for sanctions against all aviation officials involved in the scam, President Goodluck Jonathan named a three-member committee Wednesday to review the contract and submit its findings in 14 days.

Separately, the minister, alongside NCAA officials, as well as officials of Coscharis motors, the suppliers of the cars, and First Bank Plc, the financiers, are to appear before the House of Representatives standing aviation committee. The director general, Bureau of Public Procurement, is also expected to attend the hearing.

Mrs. Oduah jetted out to Israel on Tuesday, travelling with President Goodluck Jonathan for pilgrimage in Jerusalem. She was not available for the House hearing Thursday.

More inconsistencies

The House hearing established, to a large extent, that the purchase of the cars were clearly against government regulations and laws.

Also, PREMIUM TIMES careful perusal of the contract papers revealed even more conflicting details about the transaction, with recorded dates and figures contradicting each other.

While the NCAA purportedly originated the contract in August, with the first letter of order to Coscharis written on the 13th of that month, documents originating from the car firm show that the deal was long sealed in June and the car released at the same time.

The vehicle release checklist by Coscharis Motors was signed on June 25 with all basic functions of the cars approved as being in order.

There is also discrepancy in the contract sum. While Coscharis Motors listed the two cars as costing N225 million on the Goods Received Note of August 14, the NCAA approved N255 million, a difference of N30 million.

In all of Coscharis documents, nowhere was the figure N255 million used.



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wahala dey dis country oooo, why dem go put person wey burn a whole local government secretariat, to cover up his fraud for ITF, dem cum even use am do chairman, now I knw why am yet to receive my IT fund after 3years

geeez: Obanikoro should show us proof

We saw documents pertaining to Oduah's

We do not need proof because Obanikoro sells Range Rover and he was a former Ambassador to Ghana

lekkie073: story

"Story" in the sense that your brain has been programmed not to believe or atleast evaluate any account that detriments Fashola's image? Why are you scared that Obanikoro's research bellies LASG image as prudent bureaucracy full of wary executives? What's in it for you? when people are trying to hold our leaders accountable with claims, the least you can do is try to refute the claims if you are privy to any information that will do the work for you.
By the way, Obanikoro is yet to address the issue of late payment, and in some cases, non-payment of ITF allowances.
This goes goes along to further prove that this our leaders enjoy writing and promulgating incendiary articles just to incite the masses against themselves and in so doing, overlook their mediocrity and misappropriation of public funds.
They are all birds of the same feathers! Pot calling Kettle black!!

Garri the 1st:

Proof or STFU!!!

Mynd_44:
Please show me the invoice and receipts and then we can start condemning people. Before that, I maintain my stance

Go to the LASG archive board or House Assembly. Copies of the budget since 1999 will be gazetted there.

Go through it and you will be shocked to your marrow.

As for Stella (not holding brief for her) but it has been the norm for MDs and DGs under any ministry to curry favor to the newly appointed Minister by buying them vehicles since the introduction of the moneytization policy. Fani Kayode and all past ministers have all benefited from this. Not saying it is right but that is how they do business and the likes of FKK and co now acting as anti-corruption crusaders know this.

Stella's case is also more unfortunate since she was exposed by insiders working for the likes of FKK. All ministers leave their mark by installing their candidates without due process to the MDAs under their portfolio. FKK merely used his sleeper cells within NCAA to leak information to the press.

In a nut shell what am saying is that if you can for once turn the searchlight to your own governors you will be amazed at the wreckless abandon at which they go about looting the state's treasury.

That said Fashola is a crook as well as Stella but a hypocrite as well!

Bishop Juice: Go to the LASG archive board or House Assembly. Copies of the budget since 1999 will be gazetted there.

Go through it and you will be shocked to your marrow.

What is the cost of Fashola's official vehicle in the market?

How much did LASG actually buy the vehicle??

If you don't have verifiable answers to both questions then you're nothing but a Bitter Liar from the East of the Niger....

kalunomics: "Story" in the sense that your brain has been programmed not to believe or atleast evaluate any account that detriments Fashola's image? Why are you scared that Obanikoro's research bellies LASG image as prudent bureaucracy full of wary executives? What's in it for you? when people are trying to hold our leaders accountable with claims, the least you can do is try to refute the claims if you are privy to any information that will do the work for you.
By the way, Obanikoro is yet to address the issue of late payment, and in some cases, non-payment of ITF allowances.
This goes goes along to further prove that this our leaders enjoy writing and promulgating incendiary articles just to incite the masses against themselves and in so doing, overlook their mediocrity and misappropriation of public funds.
They are all birds of the same feathers! Pot calling Kettle black!!

story story

Garri the 1st:

What is the cost of Fashola's official vehicle in the market?

How much did LASG actually buy the vehicle??

If you don't have verifiable answers to both questions then you're nothing but a Bitter Liar from the East of the Niger....

and may you never find proof since you have willingly allowed yourself to be managed by a criminal fraudster