The
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has denied having any documents
relating to the two BMW bulletproof cars it bought for the Minister of
Aviation, Ms Stella Oduah.
The denial came two days after Lagos
lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), gave seven days ultimatum to NCAA to
supply his law firm with the information.
Falana’s request, dated October 21, 2013, was made on the strength of the provisions of the Freedom of information Act.
But a copy of the reply to the request
dated October 23, 2013 by the NCAA Director-General, Mr. Fola Akinkuotu,
was obtained by our correspondent on Sunday.
In his reply through the NCAA Legal
Adviser, Mr. E.K Chukwuma, Akinkuotu also claimed not to have in the
possession of the NCAA any documents relating to previous purchase of
such cars.
The reply read, “I am directed to your
letter dated October 21, 2013 on the above matter (Request for
information on N255m armoured cars for Aviation Minister, Ms Stella
Oduah) and to inform you that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority is
not in possession of any document relating to the purchase of the
armoured cars for the Aviation Minister, Ms Stella Oduah.
“With regard to your request for records
of previous purchase of armoured cars by the Aviation Ministry or NCAA,
I am to inform you that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority does not
have such records.”
But Falana, in a telephone chat with our
correspondent on Sunday, said he was going to request the
Attorney-General of the Federation to prosecute the NCAA DG.
He said, “Since copies of the documents
on the Oduahgate are available the DG has wilfully violated the
provisions of the FoI Act, I am sending a request to the
Attorney-General of the Federation to prosecute him without any delay.
“Since the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission has commenced investigation pursuant to my petition, I am
also forwarding the DG’s letter to the Commission for necessary action.”
Falana, had in his letter, written on
his behalf by a lawyer in his law firm, Mr. Adedotun Isola-Osobu, asked
Akinkuotu to supply his chamber with detailed information on the
vehicles.
The SAN had predicated his request on
the claim by Akinkuotu during a press conference on October 18, 2013,
that the NCAA indeed bought the cars for the minister.
In his letter to the NCAA, Falana had
asked Akinkuotu to supply records of previous purchase of such cars if
indeed it was customary for the NCAA to purchase such cars for the
aviation minister and visiting foreign dignitaries.
The letter read, “In your press
conference at Abuja held on Friday, October 18, 2013 you did admit that
the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority actually bought the controversial
armoured cars and that ‘it is customary to convey the minister and
visiting dignitaries in security vehicles whenever they are in Nigeria.’
“In the light of your claim at the said
press conference we are compelled to request you to make available to us
certified true copies of the documents relating to the purchase of the
cars, including budgetary approval and due process for the entire
transaction.
“Since you claimed that it is customary
to purchase such cars for aviation minister and visiting foreign
dignitaries you are also requested to provide the records of previous
purchase of armoured cars by the aviation ministry or the NCAA.
“Take notice that you are mandatorily
required to supply the requested information within seven days of the
receipt of this letter by virtue of the provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act, 2011.”
The NCAA had admitted to have spent a
whopping $1.6m (N255m) on the two cars. The purchase of the cars had
since ignited calls for the removal of the aviation minister.
No comments:
Post a Comment