The embattled Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah has accused the House of Representatives of having a hidden agenda with the sole aim of casting aspersion on her through its Committee that investigated the controversial purchase of two BMW Li Series armoured cars at a whopping N255 million.
Piqued by the outrage that greeted the purchase of the two cars allegedly for the minister at a cost seen to have been grossly inflated, the House mandated its Committee on aviation to investigate and determine whether due process was followed in the procurement process.
The Committee has since submitted its report which indicted the Minister of Aviation and adopted same Thursday at the plenary.
But, Ms Oduah fumes, saying that the action of the Committee and the House was pre-meditated and targeted at her person and office.
In a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Joe Obi, the minister wondered why the Committee deviated from the actual proceedings at the Public Hearing it organized in the course of carrying out its assignment.
Obi’s statement issued Thursday reads, “As feared, the House of Representatives, sitting in Plenary today endorsed wholesale, the recommendations of its Committee on Aviation that investigated the Bullet- Proof cars purchased by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority NCAA).
“We are shocked and disappointed that in spite of the deluge of representations and evidences provided by the Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah and all invited stakeholders on the matter, the House would reach conclusions that have only confirmed that there was a hidden Agenda in the entire exercise from the beginning.
“We recall vividly the underhand tactics of the House when, 24 long hours before the Report of the investigation was due to be laid before the Plenary, ‘’Certified True Copies’’ were handed over to online and traditional media. The motive of those who handed the document to unauthorized persons has fully manifested in the adoption of the recommendations that have no reflection to the Public Hearing conducted in the full glare of Nigerians and the media.
“We stand by our earlier submissions to the committee that due process was followed in the procurement of the vehicles by the NCAA. The Minister told the Public Hearing; and her evidence was corroborated by the NCAA that the cars were neither purchased for her nor in her name. Evidence also shows that the cars in question were included as a line item under the ‘’ safety and Security vehicles’’ sub-head in the Appropriation Act. The position of the committee that this was not included in the budget is spurious as clear evidence exists in the Appropriation Act as stated above.
“The action of the Committee and the House were pre-meditated with the sole aim of casting aspersion on the person and office of the Aviation Minister. We reiterate that the recommendations of the Committee do not reflect the actual course of proceedings at the Hearing. The Minister and the Ministry of Aviation however remain focused in the implementation of the Transformation Agenda of the Federal Government in the sector”.
