Members of the House of Representatives have expressed their disapproval at the sale of 82 vehicles for the sum of N5.8 million in the past 12 years by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), MUK TV has learned.
At the resumption of the investigative hearing into the disposal of public property by federal agencies between 2010 and 2022 to unravel the extent of illegal auctioning of public property and non-remittance of revenue realized into the Consolidated Revenue Fund’, chaired by Hon. Julius Ihonbvere, NIMASA Executive Director, Mr. Chudi Offodile, announced the sale, stating that the vehicles were sold through a due process.
But contrary to Offodile’s claim, the chairman of the committee, Hon. Ihonbvere, disclosed that the Ad-hoc Committee was in custody of petitions against NIMASA that the vehicles were sold to some officials and staff of the agency and maintained that the auctioneers engaged by NIMASA were merely hired to rubber stamp the fictitious insider trading.
According to the documents presented and obtained by Vanguard, it showed that the Peugeot Expert Ambulance with a market value of N200,000 was sold at a forced liquidation or auction value of N95,000; the Honda Civic Saloon Car with a market value of N170,000 was sold at N76,500; the Toyota Hilux (Grounded) with a market value of N300,000 was sold at N140,000; another Toyota Hilux (Accidental) with a market value of N200,000 was sold at N96,000; and another Toyota Hilux (Grounded) with a market value of N250,000 was sold at N115,000.
In the same vein, two units of the Toyota Hilux, which were at the time of inspection in the custody of the Carbotage Consultant in Lagos, were sold at N1 million in market value and were sold at N470,000 each for forced liquidation or auction value; the Honda Civic, which was at N210,000, was sold at N95,000; and the Honda City, which was at N190,000 in market value, were sold at N80,000, among others.
Through its office in Abuja, a Toyota Hilux with a N500,000 market value was sold at N245,000; a Toyota Avensis with a N300,000 market value was sold at N145,000; a Toyota Corolla with a N300,000 market value was sold at N147,000; and two units of the Honda Civic with a N90,000 market value were sold at N30,000 each, among others.
Other lawmakers who spoke during the investigative hearing demanded documentary evidence of funds remitted into the CRF account as provided by existing provisions of the Procurement Act, Proceed of Crimes Act, and other known legislation or financial regulations.
In his presentation, Mr. Offodile, who denied knowledge of the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2007, on the remittance of the funds generated from the sale of public assets, however, affirmed that the proceeds of sales were paid by the auctioneers into NIMASA’s coffers.
When asked whether the agency has a mechanic workshop where faulty vehicles can be repaired, Mr. Offodile answered in the negative.
While expressing surprise that most of the vehicles displayed in the document presented to the Ad-hoc Committee didn’t show that they are old or not in good condition, Hon. Ihonbvere said, “Looking at them (pictures of vehicles captured in the documents), some of them are looking new,” adding that for Nigerians, a 13-year-old Toyota Hilux is not old.”
Hon. Ihonbvere thereafter narrated how a former Edo State Governor engaged a female mechanic to fix some of the vehicles tagged as unserviceable and recovered over 100 vehicles while other spare parts were stored.
He explained that over 100 vehicles fixed by the female mechanic were deployed to various MDAs, thereby blocking financial leakages.
Hon. Ihonbvere specifically expressed concern over the rationale behind the placement of an advertisement on March 29, 2022, calling for a public auction of NIMASA vehicles and the sale of all the vehicles on March 30, 2022, through forced liquidation or auction.
While alleging that the move “leaves us with the impression that it’s a pre-arrangement,” the Majority Leader argued that the process contravened the extant Public Procurement Act to dispose of public assets within 24 hours.
Hence, the lawmakers requested a list of all the auctioneers as well as beneficiaries of the vehicles, the original cost of vehicles and invoices, letter of contract awards for auctioning of the assets to the auctioneers, and relevant approvals obtained from the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing as well as the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).
One of the lawmakers expressed worry about why the agency only carried out sales of vehicles and did not have any record of sales of computers and other office equipment within the period under review.
Hon. Ihonbvere, who requested the registers of all the assets of NIMASA and other MDAs, disclosed that the asset registers would be computerized in the state-of-the-art library, which is currently under construction within the National Assembly complex, to be commissioned by the end of September 2023.
Credit: Vanguard
