From Sahara Reporters:
The car company that sold
the two BMW armored cars to NCAA, gave N112million to aviation minister
Stella Oduah as kickbacks. (Kickback is a form of negotiated bribery in which a commission is paid to the bribe-taker for services rendered)
Even as the minister of aviation began a new spin today that the BMW
armored cars purchased by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)
for her use were done on "hire-purchase", SaharaReporters has unearthed
new details about the $1.6 million spent by the Nigerian Civil Aviation
Authority to purchase the armored BMW cars for Nigeria's Aviation
Minister Stella Oduah.
A highly reliable source has told SaharaReporters that the shady deal
for the car was done entirely between Coscharis Motors Limited, a
dealership from which the cars were purchased, one of Ms. Oduah’s
private firms based in Abuja, and First Bank of Nigeria.
“The NCAA was not even aware of the deal until the minister told them
to sign that they had received two BMW cars,” said our source.
After inking the deal, Coscharis Motors, sellers of the highly
inflated automobiles, reportedly gave the Aviation Minister more than
N112 million as kickbacks. Our source added that Cosmas Maduka, who owns
Coscharis Motors, pocked N60 million for each of the two BMW cars.
An official at the NCAA corroborated the information that the agency
was largely kept in the dark about the transaction. “We were never privy
to the transaction and had not seen the cars even though our head of
transport was made to sign the delivery note,” said the source. The
agency is under the Ministry of Aviation.
The source added that the agency has still not seen the cars even after the scandal escalated.
SaharaReporters was first to break the news
that Ms. Oduah compelled a cash-strapped NCAA to pay for two
extravagantly priced bullet-proof BMWs for her personal use. After
initially denying our reports, the minister’s spokesman, Joe Obi,
admitted that the transaction transpired. Mr. Obi alleged that the
purchase was justified because of unspecified threats to the minister’s
life. Neither Mr. Obi nor the minister has provided proof of any threats
to Ms. Oduah. The minister has not addressed why the NCAA paid a price
tag that auto dealers in the US and the UK described as a rip-off. US
dealers said that each of the BMW cars should cost no more than
$$167,000.
Last week, an official of the NCAA, Fola Akinkuotu, spoke to the
media and defended the purchase of the cars. Mr. Akinkuotu said the cars
were for the ministry’s protocol pool for use in transporting foreign
aviation dignitaries when they visit Nigeria. His explanation conflicted
with the original statement by the minister’s spokesman, Mr. Obi. A
source at the NCAA disclosed that Mr. Akinkuotu felt tricked into facing
the media on the scandal. “He had been told he would only appear beside
the embattled minister, who was supposed to speak. Instead, he was
asked to speak,” said the source.
Meanwhile, a source at the Presidency said President Goodluck
Jonathan was unfazed about the fraud perpetrated by Ms. Stella Oduah,
his Aviation Minister. Ms. Oduah and the late former National Security
Advisor, General Owoye Azazi, had played significant roles in raising
and disbursing money to rig the 2011 presidential elections for Mr.
Jonathan. Mr. Jonathan will depart Abuja tomorrow on a weeklong
pilgrimage to Israel.
However, SaharaReporters learnt that several ministers and diplomats
have registered their displeasure at Mr. Jonathan’s continued retention
of Ms. Oduah on his cabinet.
RSS Feed
Twitter
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Unknown
