TUESDAY 21 JUNE 2016, ABUJA -Senate says N300 billion aviation/power intervention funds were transferred to private accounts and diverted to purchase of properties in Ghana.
This comes as the aviation ministry has exonerated itself, saying it is not aware of the disbursement of the funds.
The revelation came to the fore on Monday at an investigative hearing on the disbursement and utilisation of N300 billion power and aviation intervention fund released by the Federal Government in 2011.
The 10 airlines that benefited from the funds include: Arik Airlines, Dana Airlines, Aero Helicopters, Kabo Air, Caverton Helicopter, Overland Airways, First Nation Airways, Chanchangi Airlines, Odenegene Air, and Air Nigeria.
Although Godwin Emefiele, CBN governor, explained that out of the 10 airlines that benefited from the fund, two of them: Air Nigeria and Chanchangi have become moribund, but failed to list how much each of the airlines collected.
Chairman of the Joint Committee on Aviation and Anti-Corruption, Hope Uzodinma, asked the CBN governor to produce the individual disbursements to airlines within 24 hours.
Represented by an official of the apex bank, Mudashiru Olaitan, Emefiele pointed out that BoI released N500 billion in 2011, out of which N200 billion and N300 billion were disbursed to small and medium scale enterprises as well as power and aviation sectors, respectively.
He said out of the amount, N120 billion was disbursed to 10 airlines at 7 percent interest rate for 10 to 15 year tenor, adding that while N39.5 billion had been recovered so far, N81billion is still outstanding.
The funds, he said, were approved by the Presidency, adding that: “If the funds hadn’t come, there won’t be any airline flying by now”.
While the chairman, Joint Committee on Aviation and Anti-Corruption, Hope Uzodinma, expressed concern that some of the airlines have become moribund, vice chairman of the aviation committee, Bala Na’Allah, said the funds were transferred to private accounts and diverted to purchase properties in Ghana.
Na’Allah wondered why an aircraft was grounded due to Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) that cost $4,000 after the airline collected N6 billion loan.
He said: “The application of one of the airlines was made in 2010, they had access to it in 2011. As soon as they got access to the money, they transferred huge sums of money to a company in Ghana, apparently to acquire a business in Ghana with the money that is meant to develop aviation in Nigeria.
“There were other transfers that were non-aviation related in huge amount. What we are saying is that they have collected this money to enhance the growth and development of aviation. Wherein lies the wisdom of making this huge transfer to non-aviation related including transfers across the borders of Nigeria?”
In his submission, Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transport, said neither the ministry nor its agencies were aware of the disbursement of the funds.
In an interview, Hadi Sirika, minister of state for aviation, expressed concern that funds were transferred to private accounts and used to purchase properties in other countries.
“It is a misnomer that the ministry was not involved because if they were meant to boost the aviation industry, the ministry ought to have been contacted or its parastatals, especially the NCAA who have the mandate of economic regulation and oversight over these airlines and aviation business”, he stated.
But other stakeholders at the session like John Nnorom who served as Finance Director of now defunct Air Nigeria, said diversion of N34.5billion loan to Air Nigeria to other ventures led to the collapse of the airline.
He said: “The N34.5 billion drawn from the fund by the airline was diverted to other personal business by the owner of the airline, Jimoh Ibrahim.
“The very moment the N34.5 billion intervention fund was paid into the Airline’s account with United Bank for Africa (UBA), it disappeared into one of the private accounts of the owner without any amount from the fund injected into the Airline, paving the way for its eventual collapse”.
