Oduah to appear before Senate tomorrow

The troubles of the embattled Minister of
Aviation, Ms Stella Oduah, aren’t over yet as
indications emerged on Monday that she
might also appear before the Senate plenary
on Wednesday to explain her roles in the
October 3, 2013 Associated Airlines plane
crash in Lagos.
She will also take questions from Senators on
the controversial N255m bulletproof car
scandal involving her and the Nigerian Civil
Aviation Authority.
An indication of this emerged shortly after the
Senate Committee on Aviation postponed
indefinitely, a public sitting where officials of
the NCAA were already seated on Monday,
ready to answer questions on the
controversial cars.
A committee source said in confidence that
the panel Chairman, Senator Hope Uzodinma,
told the NCAA team that the hearing had
been called off to enable members of the
panel  to prepare for Oduah’s appearance.
He said, “We postponed indefinitely,  the public
sitting with the NCAA officials to enable us to
prepare very well for the appearance of their
minister before the Senate plenary on
Wednesday.”
Oduah had appeared before the House of
Representatives’ committee on Thursday last
week but denied  that the cars were bought for
her. She claimed that the NCAA bought them
for its operations.
A 23-year-old Associated Airlines plane
carrying the remains of a former Ondo State
Governor, Dr. Olusegun Agagu, had crashed
barely a minute after it took off from the
domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed
International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos.
No fewer than 15 people, including Ondo State
Commissisoner for Culture and Tourism, Deji
Falae, died in the accident.
It was further learnt that the session might be
a live telecast by one or two television
stations.
A melodrama however played out in the
House of Representatives when the Minister
of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, testified
before the House committee on aviation on
Monday.
The committee is investigating the purchase
of  the   bulletproof cars by the NCAA.
Okonjo-Iweala testified on the nature of duty
exemption she granted for the purchase of
vehicles for the “EKO 2012 Games” hosted by
the Lagos State Government.
Coscharis Motors, which imported the
bulletproof cars, had claimed that it got a
waiver from the Ministry of Finance.
However, the Nigeria Customs Service later
lifted the lid on the issue, by explaining that
the waiver was used as a cover to import the
bulletproof cars.
It said the waiver was for 300 vehicles
imported for the games.
The panel, which is headed by Mrs. Nkiruka
Onyejeocha, had summoned the Finance
minister to clarify the waiver granted to
Coscharis.
The minister had kept the committee waiting
for three hours before she arrived the venue at
about 1.50pm.
She went straight to Onyejeocha and they
whispered to each other for a few seconds.
When she took a seat to address the
committee, Onyejeocha made excuses for her.
The committee chairman said that Okonjo-
Iweala would only spend a few minutes as she
would be attending another meeting with
President Goodluck Jonathan and the
leadership of the Academic Staff Union of
Universities at 2pm.
She also tried to limit the number of questions
Okonjo-Iweala would answer to three.
This development caused a crack among
members of the committee as some of them
protested over the limit   placed on questions.
For nearly five minutes, an argument ensued
over how to hear the minister.
Onyejeocha, who read a scripted introductory
remarks, also raced through the text in a
stammered tone.
Okonjo-Iweala continuously shook her head
as she watched the drama unfolding before
her.
When there was some calm, she addressed
the committee, denying that she granted a
waiver for the importation of the bulletproof
cars.
According to her, on June 23,2012, the Lagos
State Government applied for waivers for “300
assorted vehicles” in favour of Coscharis
Motors for the  games.
She explained that because the request met
the conditions for granting duty exemptions, it
was approved.
However, she noted that there were no
bulletproof cars on the list.
The minister said, “What I know is that on the
list, there was no mention of bulletproof cars.
“So, no waiver was granted for those
(bulletproof) cars.”
She explained that the waiver (for Eko
Games) could be granted under the ECOWAS
Common External Tariff, which Nigeria was a
signatory to.
The committee observed that the value of the
300 cars should have been between $18m
and $19m but that her office put the cost at
$14m.
Lawmakers argued that this calculation could
have drastically affected the amount payable
on the vehicles if duty was to be paid.
In response, the minister said the revenue
department of the ministry usually calculated
the duty payable on such imports.
She said the department did the calculation
and ascertained the value of the cars
correctly.
When asked to confirm whether the
transaction passed a due process test, she
referred the committee to “appropriate
procurement laws, where there are provisions
to answer your question.”
Attempts to ask further questions were
subsequently blocked by Onyejeocha.
She said that the minister was invited to
speak on waivers only and having done so,
she should be allowed to go.