N255m Car Scandal: Oduah Denies Wrongdoing, Blames NCAA DG, Aides

The embattled Minister of Aviation, Ms Stella Oduah,   has been   accused by the  House of Representatives Committee on Aviation of approving  N564m for the purchase of 54 cars beyond her power.

The committee alleged that Oduah, who  finally appeared before it  on Thursday after  failing to honour  earlier invitations,  did not follow the budget approved for the Aviation ministry and its agencies  by the National Assembly.

When Oduah  was  called upon to testify on her role in the purchase of two bulletproof cars at a whopping N255m and other vehicles by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, she seemed to have regained confidence as she looked the committee members in the face and then   apologised for  her  failure  to  honour  their earlier summons.

She  denied that the NCAA  bought  the two   bulletproof cars for her use, claiming that its decision to buy the cars did not breach any law of the land. She stated that the NCAA  bought  the bulletproof cars  for its

own operations in line with the rising profile of Nigeria as an ICAO member.

According to her, she was alarmed by media reports tying the purchase of the cars to her personal comfort.

She said, “It is not true that NCAA spent N255m to purchase the bulletproof cars for the minister. It is totally untrue; there is nothing reflecting my name. The cars were not registered in my name. All I did was approve based on the proposal sent to me on lease financing by the NCAA.”

She defended the NCAA, saying that it bought the cars as part of its three-year budgetary plan to beef up its operational fleet.

When the committee members  accused her of giving anticipatory approval for expenditure beyond her power, Oduah  said  she expected the NCAA to go back and do “the needful” by complying with procurement regulations.

Earlier, Oduah had apologised for her failure to appear before yesterday, blaming it on  her  trip abroad  to sign a Bilateral Air Services  Agreement   between Nigera and Israel .

She also admitted that attempts made by some officials to clarify the car scandal were “muddled up.”
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