House C’ttee Directs NCAA To Return Controversial Bulletproof Cars.....

The House of Representative Committee on Aviation has instructed the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to return the bulletproof cars that were subject of intense controversy in the industry last year because the circumstances surrounding their purchase were not transparent enough.
The chairman of the committee, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, also described as fraudlent the agreement on the automation of revenue collection for aviation agencies between First Bank Nigeria Plc and the Ministry of Aviation in which Avitech Nigeria Limited was engaged as the platform and software provider for the collection of revenue by First Bank.
Onyejeocha, who spoke in Lagos yesterday after an inspection tour of projects by the aviation agencies, said the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has been involved in some concession arrangements that did not yield dividend to Nigerians, listing some of them to include the concession arrangement between the FAAN and Maevis Ltd and Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Ltd, which are currently subjects of litigations.
She said, “If we say the concession with Maevis is bad business then the one with First Bank is worse.”

She argued that First Bank was involved in the bulletproof cars controversy where the NCAA became indebted to the bank to the tune of N255 million, adding that it was wrong for the bank to be the one to collect revenue on behalf of the authority, which is also indebted to it because whatever figure the bank provides might not be authenticated.
All these accusations came against the backdrop of the dwindling finances of the FAAN and its inability to meet its revenue target for 2013, causing the members of the committee to query the revenue collected on behalf of the authority.
According to her a public hearing would be held to uncover all issues that do not meet the eye in FAAN and the other aviation agencies.
The committee members also queried the size and the cost of the new terminal building under construction at Lagos Airport stressing that the if the old terminal constructed more than 30 years ago can boost of more facilities than the new one under construction by a Chinese firm, then there was no need to construct a smaller or a substandard terminal for the airport in view of the growing number of passenger traffic.