SAN FRANCISCO, November 04, (THEWILL) – Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Monday, denied that she ever granted duty waivers for the two bulletproof BMW cars that were allegedly purchased for the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, at the cost N255 million ($1.6 million) by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
The Minister made the denial when she appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation to testify on the purchase of the BMW 760 series bulletproof cars.
She told the Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha-led committee that the bulletproof cars were never part of the 300 units of cars, which the Lagos State Government applied for waivers in favour of Coscharis Motors Limited.
“Honourable chair, I was asked through your letter to shed more light on the alleged waiver granted by the Ministry of Finance for the purchase of the two vehicles, and so, that is the issue I would like to address. I would like to say, honourable chair, that it is already released to the press.
“What I know of the matter is that on June 23, 2012, the Lagos State Government applied to the President for a waiver as it is normally done for inspection charges and duty exemptions on assorted brand of vehicles in favour of Coscharis Motors for the conduct of the 18th National Sports Festival or the Eko Games,” she said.
Explaining further, the minister said: “Having met all due requirements, the Lagos State was granted this waiver for the import of 300 units of cars of various types, and this was granted. What I know is that, on this list, there was no mention of bulletproof cars, and that is all I want to say. So, no waiver was granted for bulletproof cars.”
Okonjo-Iweala who went a step further to educate the committee on how waivers are granted said: “States normally apply, and once they have shown how many units, the cost of these units, how they are going to be used, and so on and so forth, we go through, and the application is made, and the waiver (is) granted, if all the parts are clear. It is under that particular law.”
Speaking on laws governing waivers, Okonjo-Iweala said: “With regards to the question, the law on the Common External Tariffs that guides our tariffs policy has a provision for His Excellency to provide waivers under certain conditions. In the case of this import for games, the country has no leasing business per se on a large scale that can be used to get this number of cars for officials.”
It would be recalled that the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) first disclosed that the Federal Government lost more than N10 million, following the purchase of two cars by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
Saint Mugaga, Abuja
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