How Jonathan Awarded $500 Million Defense Contract
To Arthur Eze For Purchase Of Refurbished Helicopters

Sahara Reporters has obtained documents relating to a
scandalously inflated $500 million defense contract that
President Goodluck Jonathan awarded to Arthur Eze, a
Nigerian businessman with a shady past, a close friend of
the president and his wife, and a major financier of the
ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
SaharaReporters has obtained documents relating to a
scandalously inflated $500 million defense contract that
President Goodluck Jonathan awarded to Arthur Eze, a
Nigerian businessman with a shady past, a close friend of
the president and his wife, and a major financier of the
ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
President Goodluck Jonathan
Our security sources said some officers of the Nigerian Air
Force (NAF) were furious over the jumbo contract described
by one source as “a pure waste.” The sources, most of them
military personnel, told our correspondent that, in addition
to its sheer extravagance, the contract has also saddled the
Nigerian military with helicopters that have limited or no
combat utility.
The documents obtained by our correspondent reveal that
Mr. Eze, the chief executive of Triax, received the gigantic
sum of $466.5 million in order to weaponize six Puma
helicopters with the aid of an Israeli company named Elbit
Systems. This meant that each weaponized helicopter cost
close to $78 million. “For the price of each helicopter
provided by Engineer Arthur Eze, the Air Force could have
acquired seven top grade military helicopters,” said one of
our sources.
Our sources also noted that the haste with which the
contract was initiated, approved and executed raised serious
questions. A memo dated November 20, 2014 and
submitted by the Chief of Air Staff, A.N. Amosu, revealed that
Mr. Eze had on November 4, 2014 submitted a proposal to
the office of the National Security Adviser proposing to
supply the upgraded helicopters to the NAF. The tone of Mr.
Eze’s letter, obtained by us, indicated that he was deeply
involved in sourcing and supplying hardware to the Nigerian
military as it is embroiled in a fight against Boko Haram
militants.
An Air Force officer said he was alarmed at the alacrity with
which Mr. Eze’s overinflated proposal was approved by the
NSA’s office. The NAF followed with an equally quick
endorsement sixteen days later.
One of our sources accused President Jonathan and Mr. Eze
of using the refusal of the US to sell Cobra attack helicopters
to Nigeria as an excuse to engage in a large-scale
squandering of funds involving the Federal Government and
Mr. Eze’s company, the Triax Company Nigeria Limited. “In
the US, a brand new AH Cobra attack helicopter costs around
$12 million each,” said a source at the NAF. He added: “That
means that, with $400 million, Nigeria could have purchased up to 40 brand new helicopters.”
According to the source, the Cobra attack helicopter is one
of the best US-made helicopters. “It is highly effective in the
battlefield. It would have given us big battlefield advantage
over Boko Haram,” he said.
In an additional proposal, Mr. Eze’s company sought to
purchase 4,000 57mm S5 rockets, 400 80mm S8 rockets, 500
general-purpose bombs, and 20,000 units of unguided
rockets. His company also received a contract to refurbish
three C-130 planes that had been sitting at the hanger of the
Nigerian Air Force for several years.
A final invoice Mr. Eze submitted to the Nigerian
government showed that he would receive $466, 500,000 to
supply six upgraded Puma helicopters, four units of single-
seater Sukhoi Su-25K (“Frog-foot”) Soviet-made ground
attack jets, and two upgraded Su-25UB trainers for $330
million. In addition, he would receive $14 million for the
shipping of platforms/ground support/line replacement of
the six Puma helicopters; $44 million for some arms and
ammunition earlier proposed; $37 million for the
maintenance of C-130 engines, and $40 million for
unspecified armaments for the NAF.
Our military sources stated that Mr. Eze’s invoice for the
supply of the refurbished aircraft was massively inflated by
international and Nigerian standards.
Several of the sources said Triax delivered the substandard
equipment after Mr. Eze further padded the cost of the
refurbished helicopters and the C-130. The sources revealed
that, since February 15, 2015, when Chief of Air Staff Amosu
showed off the helicopters and C-130 planes, none of the
aircraft has been deployed even once to fight Boko Haram
militants. “They are not in any combat-ready condition,” one
officer fumed. “We are looking at a total waste of money for
no good reason.”
SaharaReporters could not ascertain from Mr. Amosu
whether the Air Force had taken delivery of the other items
listed on the invoice Mr. Eze had signed and submitted to
the NSA’s office.
Mr. Eze’s partners in the defense deals is Elbit Systems, an
Israeli company that has been involved in several
scandalous defense contracts in Nigeria, including a
multimillion dollar internet spying project.
Our sources wondered why the Nigerian government, which
is in a critical stage of counter-insurgency operations against
Islamist group Boko Haram, would strike such an
overinflated deal with Mr. Eze’s firm to purchase antiquated
helicopters and other equipment that were virtually
discarded by Romania.
One clear answer may be found in the fact that Mr. Eze is
one of the biggest personal financiers of Mr. Jonathan’s re-
election. The businessman, who also controls huge interests
in oil fields both in Nigeria and other West African countries,
has been funneling millions of dollars into Mr. Jonathan’s
campaign, said an insider PDP source. The businessman is
extremely close to Mr. Jonathan and is reportedly well liked
by First Lady Patience Jonathan because of his lavish
presents to her, including million dollar gifts.
Mr. Eze is a big-spending billionaire who is an expert at
ingratiating himself with those in power. During the brutal
dictatorship led by the late General Sani Abacha, Mr. Eze
became one of the closest confidantes of the general and his
wife. He received a huge windfall when Mr. Abacha handed
him the $120 million contract for rural electricity and water
projects in the southeastern states. Even though the contract
sum was borrowed from the African Development Bank, Mr.
Eze pocketed the money without doing any of the projects, a
scandal that led to the firing of the bank’s chief executive.
At the height of Mr. Abacha’s repression, Mr. Eze used to fly
traditional rulers from the southeast on frequent visits to
pledge loyalty to the dictator in Abuja. The Triax executive
even stated once that he would go into exile if Mr. Abacha
gave up power to an elected government.
Mr. Eze warmed his way to President Olusegun Obasanjo. As
Mr. Obasanjo sought to change the constitution to extend
his tenure, Mr. Eze was a vociferous supporter of the
scheme.
His closeness to President Jonathan and his wife has
brought him more riches through inflated contracts and
great political clout. At the urging of Mr. Jonathan and his
wife, the PDP national headquarters in Abuja allowed Mr.
Eze to determine most of those announced as winners of
PDP primaries for Federal legislative seats in the southeast,
but especially in his home state of Anambra. In most cases,
the businessman’s candidates were declared winners of
primaries that were either not held or were heavily
manipulated.




Source: www.saharareporters.com/2015/03/10/how-jonathan-awarded-500-million-defense-contract-arthur-eze-purchase-refurbished

Jonah has done it again,My fellow Nigerians one word SPEECHLESS.