N255m cars: Who is telling the truth?

The Nigeria Customs Service was the first to make presentation to the House of Representatives Committee on Wednesday. Deputy Controller General of customs in charge of modernization, research and economic relations, Manasa Daniel Jatau, told the committee that the said armoured cars were imported along with others last year in the name of Lagos State […]

The Nigeria Customs Service was the first to make presentation to the House of Representatives Committee on Wednesday. Deputy Controller General of customs in charge of modernization, research and economic relations, Manasa Daniel Jatau, told the committee that the said armoured cars were imported along with others last year in the name of Lagos State Government.
He explained that Coscharis Motors which requested for the importation of the cars said they were to be used for the 18th National Sports Festival in Lagos code-named Eko 2012.
According to him, the number of the vehicles cleared for that purpose was 300, three of which were said to be armoured cars and the amount to be paid as duties at that time was N10.133 million.
He however revealed that because the cars were imported in the name of the Lagos State Government, a duty exemption letter was obtained by Coscharis from the minister of finance which made the service to forego the N10.133 million payable.
He said further that the waiver granted was to cover the period of one year after which it would expire, adding that the Nigeria Customs Service is just an implementer of the laws and policies of government.
DCG Jatau also told the committee that to the best of his knowledge, it was wrong for any car cleared at the port to be transferred to another end user, but he added that they do not have the mandate to know if such car is transferred to another user after being cleared.
Corroborating this on Thursday, minister of finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said in a statement that the waiver granted by her ministry last year was actually for the Lagos State Government and not Coscharis Motors.
She said in the statement that the Lagos government had approached her ministry for waiver exemption on some cars for the sports festival and that it was granted based on the requirements met.
However, the statement said none of the cars was an armoured or bullet-proof one.
For its part, Coscharis Motors through its managing director Josiah Samuel said the price of each of the two armoured cars was €418,000, adding that due process was followed in acquiring them.
He explained that for any armoured car to be imported into the country, an approval must be sought from the National Security Adviser, saying that was done.
But in the NSA letter of approval obtained by our reporter, the amount quoted for the armoured cars was put at $223,653.48 for three units with their chassis numbers given as DW68047, DW68044 and DW68032, while one of those inspected by the lawmakers had DW68011. The letter also indicated that the cars were for commercial purposes.
He said the company had entered into an agreement with government to provide cars to be used for free whenever there is a major event but that they would not pay any duty on such vehicles, which was why they were granted exemption.
Members of the committee accused Coscharis of misleading the NSA and deceiving Nigerians for quoting an amount which was less than the actual cost so that waiver could easily be granted.
NCAA had last week told the lawmakers that it bought the cars from Coscharis for its operations and inspection of perimeter fences in the 22 airports across the country based on lease financing agreement it entered with First Bank Plc which is financing the transaction.
In its presentation to the committee on Wednesday, however, First Bank said based on its agreement with NCAA, it was told that the cars were purchased for use by management staff. The bank added that it was an auto loan agreement it entered with NCAA and not lease financing.
Sheyi Oyefeso who is the group head, retail services of First Bank spoke on its behalf.
Similarly, it was discovered at the hearing on Wednesday that the chassis number of one of the armoured cars inspected by the committee in Abuja on Tuesday last week was different from what Coscharis submitted to the lawmakers.
The lawmakers who raised concern about the disparity said they suspected that the cars might not be the ones supplied, adding that one of the cars had mileage of over 3000, while the other had just 170.
A member of the committee Rep Ali Nasir Ahmad (PDP, Kano) who was part of those that inspected the cars said “one of them was apparently over used with one of its tyres almost cut off.”
Rep Zakari Mohammed (PDP, Kwara) who also followed the team said the lawmakers saw some personal effects which included complimentary cards, powder among others in one of the cars.
Appearing before the committee on Thursday, aviation minister Stella Oduah admitted that she actually approved purchase of the N255 million bullet-proof cars request from the NCAA.
While maintaining that the purchase of the cars followed due process, Oduah said the vehicles were provided for in the NCAA 2013 appropriation approved by the National Assembly and that they were not bought for her but for the operations of the NCAA.
The lawmakers insisted that they only approved N240 million for 25 vehicles in the NCAA’s 2013 budget without any armoured cars.
Daily Trust obtained the NCAA 2013 budget approved by the National Assembly which showed that the provisions for operational vehicles were Toyota pick-up Hilux, five units; Toyota Corolla, 10 units; Toyota Landcruiser, five units; Toyota Hiace bus, three units; security inspection vehicles, two units for safety/security purposes and inspection of perimeter fences all at the sum of N240 million.
Oduah said: “There was nothing in the approved documents reflecting my name, when the budget was being made. At no time did I ever request for any vehicle from the NCAA. It was the agency that had the need and made the request to the federal ministry of aviation.
“After the purchase on a 3 year lease financing arrangement, the vehicles were never delivered to me. The vehicles were also not registered in my name. All I did was to approve the request of the agency doing the needful as evidenced by my minutes on the letter dated 15th April,” she stated.
She added that “on the procedure for the lease arrangement for the acquisition of the vehicles, let me reiterate that from the records available to me, it would appear that the NCAA followed the due process required. I have been made to understand that there exist no guidelines issued by the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) on lease financing.”
However, the BPP in its submission to the committee last week said due process was not followed in the procurement as it was not aware of the transaction in any way.
The lawmakers inquired to know why Oduah approved more than the N100 threshold by a minister, but she said in her approval, the directive she gave was simply “Kindly do the needful.”
Rep Mohammed further asked Oduah to explain what she meant by “Kindly do the needful,” saying she breached the law. Oduah however replied that “I’m sorry, but your interpretation is wrong. What it meant was that they should do the necessary due diligence.”
Mohammed also told Oduah that First Bank had told them that it was an auto loan agreement not lease arrangement it entered with NCAA, but she said the two are the same.
She said the amount to be paid to First Bank by NCAA will not be more than what the NASS approved by year end.
Former acting-DG of NCAA Joyce Nkemakolom who presided over award of the contract was called to explain what he did when he received directive to do “the needful.”
He explained that because they had “a mindset that the National Assembly approved purchase of the cars” in their budget, they thought she meant they should go ahead and follow due process in acquisition.
A member of the committee Rep Jerry Mamwe (PDP, Taraba) accused him of misleading the minister by originating the request when he knew that NASS approved only 25 vehicles for them at N240 million.
Mamwe also disagreed with the minister saying “The cars were not approved by the National Assembly. I don’t also agree with her that it was a lease agreement when First Bank told us here yesterday (Wednesday) that it was an auto loan agreement. It’s either NCAA misled you or prepared the text for you to read.”
With all these conflicting revelations and submissions from those summoned by the lawmakers, it still remains a matter of conjecture on who is telling the truth.