Lagos
lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), has given the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission 13 grounds to prosecute the Minister of Aviation, Ms
Stella Oduah, and “her agents” for gross misconduct in the purchase of
two armoured cars at N255m.
In a November 2, 2013, letter to the
EFCC chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, Falana also gave the commission up
till November 8 to make available to him the investigation report on the
matter.
Relying on the Court of Appeal’s
decision in the case of Dogogo v EFCC (2013), the lawyer threatened to
sue the EFCC if it failed to carry out its “statutory duty”.
He accused the House of Representatives
committee before whom Oduah appeared on October 31, of deliberately not
asking her the relevant questions on the “criminal enterprise”.
But he said facts and circumstances of
the “illegal transaction” had established, among others, that “there was
no appropriation for the sum of N255m for the acquisition of armoured
cars in the Appropriation Act, 2013.”
He also said the minister “exceeded her
approval limit as only the Federal Executive Council can approve any
transaction of N100m and above; and the transaction did not comply with
any of the provisions of the Public Procurement Act.”
Other grounds canvassed by Falana
include, “The prices of the two cars were inflated by the auto company
in connivance with the aviation minister and the management of the NCAA.
“The loan of N643 million sourced from
the First Bank Plc for the purchase of operational vehicles for the NCAA
was not approved by the National Assembly.
“The repayment of the loan in 36 months
by the NCAA is tantamount to contract splitting in contravention of the
Financial Guidelines of the Federal Government.
“That the Aviation Minister admitted her
involvement in the extra budgetary purchase of the cars when she gave
illegal approval before directing the NCAA officials to “do the
needful”!
“The Media Assistant to the Aviation
Minister who claimed that the armoured cars were purchased for the
“safety” of his boss has not denied the official statement.
“The Ministry of Aviation conspired with
the auto company to evade the payment of appropriate duties on the
armoured cars to the coffers of the Federal Governmen as they obtained
duty waiver by false pretences from the Federal Ministry of Finance.
“The First Bank Plc entered into an
illegal loan agreement with the NCAA to finance the illegal transaction
from the internally generated revenue of the NCAA. Under the law loans
can only be approved by the legislative arm of government fo fund
capital projects and not for the purchase of cars.
He therefore asked the anti-graft agency
to hasten to try the minister and her agents “for gross economic and
financial crimes as they wilfully violated the relevant provisions of
the Constitution, the Public Procurement Act as well as the relevant
Circulars and Financial Guidelines of the Federal Government.”
He threatened to apply for an order of
mandamus to compel EFCC “to carry out your statutory duty” if it failed
to acceded to his request.
PUNCH
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