“The sale of the helicopters under the pretext of underutilisation by the authorities of the College of Aviation in March 2023 has now become 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,” he said.
The House of Representatives Committee on Public Assets has announced that it will launch a probe into the sales of two training helicopters by the Nigeria College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria.
The Chairman of the Committee, Ademorin Kuye (APC, Lagos), in a statement on Monday, said it would probe the sale of two Bell 206L-3 helicopters which were public assets acquired for training pilots by the Nigeria College of Aviation Technology, Zaria, for N1.2 billion.
He explained that the government decided to sell the helicopters despite the Nigerian Navy needing similar aircraft for operations.
“The sale of the Helicopters under the pretext of underutilisation by the authorities of the College of Aviation in March 2023 has now become 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,” he said.
“This is despite the offer of Nigerian Navy to acquire the same and possibly use it to address the security challenges facing the country in the area of oil pipeline vandalisation and crude oil theft. The committee equally feels the assets could have been converted to the use of Nigerian Police to fight banditry and insurgency in the country.
“The urgency in the sales and concession of public assets at the twilight of the last administration calls 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.
“Therefore, the House Committee on Public Assets as constituted will investigate the sale of these important training national assets to ensure that due process is followed and that the country is not shortchanged in this deal,” the statement reads.
Mr Kuye’s committee and 133 others were constituted by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas last Thursday before the House embarked on its annual recess.