Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Nigeria have expressed outrage over the alleged sale of government helicopters belonging to the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, Kaduna, amounting to about $12 million without proper accounting.
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The CSOs are demanding that relevant government agencies, including NCAT, NCAA, and the Aviation Ministry, come clean about the ‘secret giveaway sale’ of the helicopters.
According to report by leadership newspaper, the two Bell 206L-3 helicopters, which were public assets acquired for training pilots by NCAT, were sold in March 2023 under the pretext of underutilisation by the College of Aviation authorities. The choppers, registered as 5N-BZB and 5N-BZC, were bought during ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration at a cost of $6 million each, but were sold to private individuals for less than five percent of their original cost.
The CSOs, speaking through their leader, Awwal Musa Rafsanjani, insisted that the government officials involved in the transaction must be held accountable. “Government officials seem not interested in working based on the laws because of their selfish interest. Properties belonging to the government will be taken and shipped to other countries without public knowledge,” Rafsanjani said.
Despite an investigation launched by the House of Representatives Committee on Public Assets, crucial details of the transaction remain shrouded in secrecy. The committee accused NCAT of failing to remit the proceeds from the sales to the federal government’s Treasury Single Account and using outdated exchange rates.
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. The aircraft were allegedly dismantled at the executive jet hangar at Lagos airport before being smuggled to Florida, United States of America, where they were sold.
The acting director general of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority of Nigeria (NCAA), Capt. Chris Najomo, claimed he was not privy to the helicopter registration or deregistration information but offered to investigate and share the information.
The CSOs are urging the government to investigate the matter thoroughly and ensure that everyone involved in corruption is punished. They emphasize the need for transparency and adherence to public procurement laws to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.
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