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The committee alleged that Oduah, who finally appeared before it on Thursday after failing to honour earlier invitations, did not follow the budget approved for the Aviation ministry and its agencies by the National Assembly.
When Oduah was called upon to testify on her role in the purchase of two bulletproof cars at a whopping N255m and other vehicles by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, she seemed to have regained confidence as she looked the committee members in the face and then apologised for her failure to honour their earlier summons.
She denied that the NCAA bought the two bulletproof cars for her use, claiming that its decision to buy the cars did not breach any law of the land. She stated that the NCAA bought the bulletproof cars for its
own operations in line with the rising profile of Nigeria as an ICAO member.
According to her, she was alarmed by media reports tying the purchase of the cars to her personal comfort.
She said, “It is not true that NCAA spent N255m to purchase the bulletproof cars for the minister. It is totally untrue; there is nothing reflecting my name. The cars were not registered in my name. All I did was approve based on the proposal sent to me on lease financing by the NCAA.”
She defended the NCAA, saying that it bought the cars as part of its three-year budgetary plan to beef up its operational fleet.
When the committee members accused her of giving anticipatory approval for expenditure beyond her power, Oduah said she expected the NCAA to go back and do “the needful” by complying with procurement regulations.
Earlier, Oduah had apologised for her failure to appear before yesterday, blaming it on her trip abroad to sign a Bilateral Air Services Agreement between Nigera and Israel .
She also admitted that attempts made by some officials to clarify the car scandal were “muddled up.”
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