In spite of what started as a promising investigation by the House of Representatives’ Committee on Public Assets into how two aircraft belonging to the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria, Kaduna, were sold and shipped to the United States of America, crucial details of the transaction remain shrouded in secrecy.
The House Committee on Public Assets had on July 31, 2023 moved to launch the investigation sequel to media reports on the purported sale of two Bell 206L-3 helicopters which were public assets acquired for training pilots by NCAT.
The committee had, in a press statement, signed by its chairman, Hon. Ademorin Kuye, said the sale of the helicopters under the pretext of underutilisation by the authorities of the College of Aviation in March 2023 was a symptom of the worrying trend of asset stripping in all sectors of the economy by all MDAs toward the twilight of the last administration.
“This is despite the offer of the Nigerian Navy to acquire the same and possibly use to address the security challenges facing the country in the area of oil pipeline vandalisation and acrude oil theft.
“The urgency in the sales and concession of public assets at the twilight of the last administration call for suspicion since the supposed approval was gotten from that administration, and it is only right that the new regime is allowed to be part of the completion of the sale process if there are no hidden agendas,” Kuye had said.
The choppers, Bell 206L4 BZB and Bell M2061-L4, were bought during the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan and were sold to private individuals for less than 5 percent of their original cost.
The chairman of the committee, Ademorin Kuye, expressed dissatisfaction with NCAT’s decision to sell the helicopters at such a steep discount.
The House committee further accused the institution of failing to remit the proceeds from the sales to the federal government’s Single Treasury Account and using outdated exchange rates.
Also, the vice chairman of the committee, Ismailia Dabo, also raised concerns about other potential financial irregularities, citing the lack of registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and certification from the Institute of Auctioneers in Nigeria by the company responsible for the auction.
NCAT had said it auctioned two helicopters at a total of $556,200,322 (N1.2 billion) because of underutilisation.
And while the probe launched with fanfare by the lawmakers has revealed important details, and is in a state hibernation, fresh facts have emerged on how the two training helicopters were dismantled, shipped and sold by some top officials of the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development.
But LEADERSHIP Sunday’s investigation has shown that the aircraft were allegedly dismantled at executive jet hangar at Lagos airport before they were smuggled out to Florida, United States of America, where they were sold.
It was further gathered that the cockpit of the choppers also indicated a mileage of less than 50 hours.
And while the aircraft had been registered in Nigeria and could have been exported without first being deregistered by Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, and an export certificate issued, the present management of NCAA feigned ignorance about the entire episode when contacted by LEADERSHIP Sunday.
A source had informed LEADERSHIP Sunday that the helicopters were sold discreetly, dismantled and packed neatly into containers and shipped out of Nigeria.
The source further stated that the choppers were sighted at helicopter parts and services, Pompano Beach Airport, Florida in the United States.
“Two Bell 206 L (long range, VIP) helicopters were bought brand new by the Buhari administration during the tenure of Senator Hadi Sirika as minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development. They were for the training of pilots at NCAT, Zaria, and procured through Manyatta Engineering before being shipped to Nigeria.
According to a second source, the new buyer is a French-Canadian simply called ‘Mr Guy’.
The helicopters were purchased at the cost of $6m each ($12m in total). Their registration numbers are 5N-BZB and 5N-BZC, and they have a passenger capacity of seven persons each.
“They were delivered to NCAT at about year 2020 but, curiously, the two choppers were flown to Lagos in the twilight of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration last year. On arrival, they were initially parked at the Police hanger at the Ikeja airport before being moved days later to the Executive Jet hangar. Discreetly, the choppers were dismantled and packed neatly into containers and cargoed out of Nigeria.
“At the dismantling, the two choppers were said to have only 40 hours and 30 hours mileage respectively, indicating they were still relatively brand new, yet they were both auctioned for just over $500,000, when the current price is $6m each,” the source explained.
However, the former rector of the academy, Modibo Alkali, on whose tenure the dismantling and alleged sales of the helicopters happened, when contacted, asked LEADERSHIP Sunday to contact NCAT for more facts about the matter.
In a message to LEADERSHIP Sunday’s correspondent, he said, “Kindly go to NCAT and get the facts. First and foremost, the helicopters were not bought by ex-President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. The choppers were procured during ex-President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s tenure.”
However, all effort to speak to the acting rector of NCAT, Shaka Imalighwe, for clarification were unsuccessful as all calls, text and WhatsApp messages sent to him were ignored and not responded to till the time of this report.
Imalighwe, it was gathered, was the deputy rector of the institution when the helicopters were moved away from Kaduna State to Lagos where it was dismantled and sold as parts to Florida, United States.
Also, when contacted, the acting director general, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority of Nigeria (NCAA), Capt. Chris Najomo, said he was not privy to the information on the helicopter registration or deregistration.
He, however, offered to investigate and share the information with LEADERSHIP Sunday.
When also contacted, the former minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Sen. Hadi Sirika, did not respond to LEADERSHIP Sunday’s enquiry on the sale of the helicopters when they were still serviceable. Text and WhatsApp messages sent to his phone were not responded to as of the time of filing this report.
The incumbent minister, Festus Keyamo, and his spokesman, Tunde Moshood, also declined to respond to LEADERSHIP Sunday’s enquiry, as text and WhatsApp messages sent to them were not replied to.
We Will Soon Complete Probe – Reps
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has said it will soon complete investigation into the sale of the two training helicopters by the Nigeria College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, for N1.2 billion.
The chairman of the House Committee on Public Assets, Hon. Ademorin Kuye disclosed this to LEADERSHIP Sunday.
But before the House probe went to sleep, a lot of information had been disclosed by parties to the transaction, particularly, the NCAT, which was in custody of the aircraft.
The then rector and chief executive officer of the institution, Capt. Alkali Modibbo, had told journalists that the two Bell 206B – III model helicopters were disposed of after satisfying all due diligence.
He said the college had obtained the valuation reports of the affected helicopters from the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing via a letter dated 30th March, 2023.
According to Modibbo, that led to the engagement of Messrs Tresmo as the auctioneer vide NCAT.11/1204/VOL.1/043, dated April 6, 2023, and the auctioneer also accepted and executed the disposal of the helicopters via a letter signed by Baba Malik on April 7, 2023, which also remitted the proceeds of N1.2 billion into the federal government account.
At the commencement of the probe in February, the acting rector/CEO, NCAT, Shaka Imalighwe passed the buck to the Head of Quality Assurance and Procurement Department of the college because the transaction took place before he assumed office.
The Head of the Quality Assurance and Procurement Department revealed that the college got approval from the Ministry of Works and Aviation before the sale of the two Bell 206L4 BZB and Bell M2061- L4 Helicopters.
But members of the House Committee, argued that the NCAT management was expected to engage an independent valuer for a proper valuation which they never did.
They insisted that the two helicopters were disposed of suspiciously, saying, “Even the auctioneer engaged was not a registered member of the Certified Institute of Auctioneers Nigeria, CIAN.”
The Committee lamented that Bell 206L4 BZB and Bell M2061- L4 helicopters bought at about $7 million were sold at a ridiculous amount to private individuals for less than 20 percent of the cost price.
The lawmakers alleged that the management of NCAT merely connived with certain individuals in the name of engaging the service of the independent auctioneer as the Certified Institute of Auctioneers Nigeria insisted that the firm the college collaborated with as an auctioneer was not their member.
The Committee also noted that the amount NCAT claimed was paid to the treasury of government in June last year is far less than the N1.2bn they agreed was collected for the sale of the two helicopters given the exchange rate at that time.
This was as the helicopters were sold in dollars but the amount remitted to the government treasury was in Naira at an exchange rate of about N400/$1.
Again, at an investigative hearing into the matter in March ending, the Committee vowed to recover the two Bell helicopters as the chairman, Kuye, expressed worry over the sale of the two helicopters to private individuals when the college was left with no helicopter for training its students.
The committee also questioned the process leading to the sale of the helicopters as security agencies, including the Nigerian Air Force, Navy and the Police had indicated interest in purchasing them but were denied by the management of NCAT.
The three security agencies, according to various submissions, not only indicated interest in purchasing the helicopters by writing but also visited the college but were denied the opportunity to purchase them.
The acting rector said though he was the deputy rector of the college at the time the helicopters were sold, he was not part of the team/committee that facilitated the sales and that he took over the management of the college in an acting capacity in January 2024.
The committee said despite initial appeals to NCAT to provide certain documents regarding the process that led to the sale of the helicopters in May 2023, they had not been able to provide them.
Imalighwe had told the committee that the helicopters were in service and being maintained by relevant aviation bodies when they were sold and confirmed that, at the time of the interaction, there was not a single helicopter.
When LEADERSHIP Sunday contacted the chairman of the committee, Hon. Kuye he simply stated that the “matter is coming up soon.”
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