CAR SCANDAL: Panel Submit Result, Recommend 3-year Jail Term For Oduah

The House Committeeon Aviation which
investigated the purchase of two armoured
BMW cars for the aviation minister, Stella
Oduah at the rate of N255m has submitted its
report.
Oduah should face the consequence of spending
public money on unbudgeted expenditure such as
the purchase of the cars: a three-year jail term and
a fine of N100, 000. These are part of
recommendations of the report of the House
Committee on Aviation.
The report reads:
“That the contract for the purchase of the cars was
not listed in the budget by NCAA, the agency
compelled by the minister to make the purchase,
and was not listed by the Federal Airports Authority
of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigerian Airspace
Management Agency (NAMA).
“That spending public funds on unbudgeted projects
attracts three years in jail and a fine of N100, 000
as stipulated by the ICPC Act.”
“The minister’s poor supervisory role led NCAA into
unilaterally appropriating funds against next year’s
budget. The above is an indirect contempt of
parliament, even so that the president and
commander-in-chief has not submitted to the
National Assembly the 2014 Appropriation Bill.”
“The minister has not addressed why the NCAA
paid a price tag that auto dealers in the US and UK
described as ‘a rip-off’. It is a fact that each of the
BMW cars should cost no more than $167,000
which is approximately N36 million.
“Aviation minister approved NCAA’s request to
procure 55 operational vehicles valued at N564.665
million; there is no evidence to show that the Hon.
Minister presented NCAA’s request to FEC for its
approval. Further, the attempt to procure now and
pay later is against the extant laws of the
federation.”
They therefore recommended that “the President
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should review the
continued engagement of the Hon. Minister for
Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, having contravened
the 2013 appropriation and approved revised
thresholds by exceeding her approval limit of
N100m with the purchase of 54 vehicles valued at
N643m”.
On the finding of the panel that the cars allegedly
purchased were different from the ones they
inspected, the legislators recommended that the
“Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
and other relevant anti-corruption agencies further
investigate the discrepancies and the chassis
number DW68032 of the vehicles on the one
reported to be delivered and the one inspected by
the committee, and, if found wanting, prosecute all
persons/institutions involved in the transaction”.
The report also asks the company from which the
cars were purchased, Coscharis Nigeria Limited, to
pay the value of the waiver for the two BMW
armoured cars, having been found to have lied
about the federal government giving it waiver on
the cars.
It states: “Coscharis Nigeria Limited should be
investigated on the issue of waiver, source and
exact cost of the two (2) BMW vehicles supplied to
NCAA.  It should be made to pay the waiver value
into the treasury account.
“Coscharis Motors Limited claimed that the
Federal Ministry of Financegranted it import duty,
VAT, ETLS, CISS and port charges waiver to import
two (2) bulletproof BMW armoured cars. This claim
is false.”
The lawmakers also found that there were: “No
copies of advertisements or solicitations for bids
published in at least 2 national newspapers and the
website of NCAA as well as any procurement
journal. No copies of bids submissions registers and
duplicate copies of receipts issued to bidders on
submission bids. No minutes of public bidding for
technical and financial proposals, including list of
CSOs and professional observers. No copies of bids
evaluation by the sub-technical committees of the
Tenders Board, and copies of minutes of meetings
of the Tenders Board approving the winning
bidder.”