CBN says only N120 billion was released to ailing airlines – Director counters apex bank’s stance, explains how the monies were released – Amaechi denies knowledge of any such fund being transfered to his ministry Nigeria’s minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi on Monday, June 20, appeared before the senate over the utilization of N500 billion allegedly released to the aviation sector.
The Nation reports that the Senate commenced an investigation into the use of the fund released by the federal government for both Aviation and Power sectors. Although the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said that only N120 billion was released to the ailing airlines designated through the banks, Senator Hope Uzodinma, the chairman, senate committee on Aviation said the mandate of the committee on Aviation and anti-corruption will probe the disbursement of N86.6 billion released by the government in 2011.
Speaking during the hearing, Amaechi said his ministry “does not know anything about $40million neither do we know about any N86.6 billion,” adding that they don’t not know how the funds were generated and disbursed. On his part, Hadi Sirika, the minister of state for Aviation, informed that the funds were apparently wrongly used and probably diverted by the beneficiaries, stating also that “this is something that went terribly wrong in the past.
“What is unbelievable as discovered by the committee is that these monies were transferred out of the country; the monies were transferred into private accounts, transferred into foreign banks and used to buy private houses.” Mudashiru Olaitan, one of the directors in CBN, informed also that the apex bank’s intervention in the Aviation and Power sectors was up to N500 billion, adding that N300 billion was actually released and dedicated to both sectors with the balance of N200 billion, earmarked for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). According to him, the Bank of Industry was the managing agent of the loan expected to last between 10 and 15 years. Read more here. Recently, Amaechi and minister for state for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu openly disagreed over the transfer of the Maritime University, Okerenkoko, Delta state.
The two politicians were arguing at the Federal government town hall meeting in Uyo. While the transport minister said the university project was not possible, Kachikwu mounted the podium and said: “I disagree with the minister of transport. Any facility in the South-south, we should work towards developing it, I don’t care the circumstance. It is not my business whether land was valued at 19 or 10 million.”
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