NCAA: No Nigerian Airport is Fully Certified Airworthy. Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah •Nigeria, Israel seal BASA deal •House committee threatens to sanction Oduah Omololu Ogunmade, Onwuka Nzeshi and Dele Ogbodo in Abuja and Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City Participants at a public hearing organised by the Senate Committee on Aviation were shocked Monday when the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) disclosed that no single airport has been fully certified to be airworthy in Nigeria. The gathering got a bigger shocker when the agency further disclosed without any ambiguity that as long as the existing law on aviation does not put an age limit to the aircraft being licensed to fly in Nigeria, NCAA would have no option but to keep registering aircraft irrespective of age. The agency made the revelations on a day Nigeria and Israel signed a Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) in Jerusalem, with the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Viola Onwuliri, signing for Nigeria contrary to expectations that the beleaguered Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah, would do so. Oduah is under fire over her alleged role in the procurement of two armoured cars by the NCAA and is being probed by both the presidency and the House of Representatives, which has mandated its Committee on Aviation to handle the assignment. The probe, which began last Thursday, however, has run into a hitch following the absence of the minister to testify before the committee. It was learnt that Oduah had written the committee to request that her appearance be deferred until next week. Speaking at the Senate Aviation Committee public hearing yesterday, Director of Aerodrome Services, Mr. Joyce Nkemakolam, who acted as the NCAA director-general after the sack of Mr. Harold Demuren, did not mince words in saying that none of Nigerias airports possesses full airworthy certification. Nkemakolam was responding to a question by one of the senators who had asked him to name airports that are airworthy in Nigeria. “Distinguished senators, no airport in Nigeria has been fully certified,” he responded. The senator, who said he had discovered that NCAA was issuing operational licences to non-existent aircraft, also alleged that aircraft of over 43 years of age were flying the nation’s airspace with impunity. He challenged NCAA to emulate the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), which he said banned the importation of overage vehicles into the country as he attributed the frequent air crashes in the country to indiscriminate licensing of aircraft. In his response, the NCAA Director-General, Captain Fola Akinkuotu, argued that there was currently no law banning the use of old aircraft in the country, saying if an end was sought to the trend, the National Assembly should pass a law to address it. The committee, however, condemned the alleged recklessness in issuing Air Operations Certificates (AOCs) without any regard for laid down regulations. The senators also accused the agency of issuing twice the number of hitherto existing certificates since the exit of Demuren. “The issue of AOC is a serious matter. Since after Demuren, the NCAA has issued twice the number of certificates. When it comes to the issue of safety, standards and regulations, we cannot compromise,” a senator said. The senator named an airline, Arc Air, which he described as one among six other unnamed airlines that had been issued licences by NCAA while Nkemakolam acted as DG, without owning any aircraft. He added that these airlines were yet to commence operations because till date, they have not acquired any aircraft six months after being issued licences. While condemning the action, Senator Ali Ndume said: “In this time and age where aircraft use high technology, you are approving AOC for an aircraft which is 43 years old. It is an insult to fly Nigerians in an aircraft that is 43 years old. It doesnt make sense. “You have a right to say that anybody who has an aircraft older than 12 years should not come to your office. After all, the Customs did theirs.” The committee also queried Akinkuotu over the agencys alleged failure to take action against one of the agencys Principal Operations Inspectors simply identified as Mr. Agwu. Agwu was alleged to have engaged in fraudulent practices while inspecting Beachcraft, Dana and Associated Airlines’ aircraft which all later crashed. Responding, Akinkuotu said: “We have interrogated him and there is an on going in-house investigation.” On the alleged procurement of the armoured cars for Oduah, the NCAA DG said the agency did not come prepared to answer questions on the matter, saying: “The letter that conveyed the information transmitted to NCAA did not specify that the agency should provide details in connection with same. I did not come with any documents.” He, however, promised that the agency would provide information at its disposal on the matter next Monday when it is billed to appear again before the committee. On its part, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) denied reports that the agency purchased four limousines and Toyota Tundra vehicles for the Ministry of Aviation, saying the vehicles belong to Landover Aviation. The agencys Managing Director, Mr. Nnamdi Udoh, said: “The limousines have nothing to do with NAMA but were used for security around the Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt airports. Those vehicles do not belong to NAMA; they are not in our inventory.” The committee decided to invite the Managing Director of Landover to appear before it along with NCAA next Monday. However, the probe ordered by the House into the purchase of the two armoured cars by NCAA may have run into some hitches as Oduah will not be available to give her testimony until early next week. The investigation, which began last Thursday, was expected to resume today (Tuesday) but it was later shelved to tomorrow ostensibly to enable Oduah return from her trip to Israel. The House committee said its decision to defer the investigation by one day was to enable Oduah conclude her engagements abroad and to allow ample time for her team and other invited agencies collate their documents for the hearing. But in a letter dated October 25 and addressed to the House committee, Oduah expressed regrets at her inability to appear before the investigation panel, explaining that her absence was solely due to her official assignment in Israel. She explained that the official schedule for the signing of the BASA, including the travel logistics from Israel back to Nigeria would not enable her to appear at the new date. “I therefore most respectfully restate my appeal for the distinguished committees kind indulgence and understanding in this regard and I re-confirm my readiness to appear before you at your earliest convenience following my return at the end of October, 2013,” Oduah said. In another letter from the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aviation, Dr George Ossi, the House committee was told that the minister would leave Israel tomorrow and arrive Nigeria the following day. The letter dated October 25, proposed that Oduah appears before the committee on either November 4 or the next day. In a swift reaction to this last request, the committee insisted that the minister must appear tomorrow or face sanctions. The letter signed by the Clerk, House Committee on Aviation, Mr. Abubakar Ibrahim Chana, read: “I am further directed to inform you that your inability to appear before the committee has become a serious constraint to the committee as the House of Representatives has mandated the committee to submit its report within one week. “More so, the committee has been utterly gracious by postponing the hearing to Wednesday 30th October 2013. “It is the directive of the House of Representatives that you should appear on the scheduled date of which failure to do so will leave the committee with no option but to enforce the appropriate laws and apply necessary sanctions.” Meanwhile, the House Committee on Public Procurement yesterday joined the fray, accusing Oduah and the NCAA of going beyond their lawful boundaries in the purchase of the armoured vehicles. Chairman of the committee, Hon. Olajumoke Okoya-Thomas, said the N255 million allegedly expended on the purchase of the BMW cars was above the threshold permitted by the Public Procurement Act. According to Okoya-Thomas, the Public Procurement Act stipulates that all purchases above N100 million ought to receive due approval from the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and cannot be passed through the ministerial tenders board as the NCAA had done in this case. The lawmaker said anyone found guilty of such an offence risked a five-year jail term without the option of a fine. The lawmaker dismissed the argument of the NCAA that the cars were bought under a lease agreement, adding that the argument does not hold water as long as the NCAA paid with public funds. A group under the aegis of South-east/South-south Professionals of Nigeria also yesterday criticised the ministers involvement in the car purchase scandal and called on her to resign. President of the group, Emeka Ugwu-Oju, said although the minister had done a lot for the aviation industry, she had disappointed her admirers by being involved in the scandal rocking the industry. Ugwu-Oju, during a stakeholders’ meeting organised to marshal the forums position on the national conference being proposed by President Goodluck Jonathan, said: “We are not saying she is guilty, it is a wrong thing to do and somebody has to take responsibility. We are of the view that the current minister of aviation should go. “She is going not because she is found culpable but we are looking at the overall picture of values. The honourable thing for her to do is to step aside and go.” Notwithstanding the criticisms over her alleged involvement in the car purchase scandal, Oduah sought to shore up her credibility as she made attempts to make capital gains out the signing of BASA between Nigeria and Israel yesterday in Jerusalem. Although the embattled minister was at the ceremony, it was the acting foreign affairs minister who signed for Nigeria. In a State House photo sent out by presidential spokesperson Reuben Abati, Onwuliri was seen signing the BASA agreement with the Deputy Israeli Foreign Minister, Mr. Zeer Elkin, in a ceremony at the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem. But despite being tactically fenced off, Oduah, in a statement by her media aide, Mr. Joe Obi, described the agreement as not only historic, but also a remarkable endorsement of the transformation taking place in the aviation sector in Nigeria. “I am particularly happy that President Jonathans reforms in the aviation sector are bearing fruit and receiving the endorsement of the international community. With this agreement, Nigeria is opening up another important frontier in its bid to open up the country to the world, boost its economy and facilitate the fast growing aviation sector. “This is one of my happiest moments as aviation minister because Israel is very strategic to the diplomatic and economic interest of Nigeria,” she said. FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @9JA_TRAVEL...
Posted on: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 08:56:05 +0000
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