Senate Summons Minister Of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi Over N500bn Aviation and Power sectors Fund

Recently, the Senate commenced an investigation into the use of the fund released by the federal government for both Aviation and Power sectors. It was on this note that the Nigerian minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi was summoned on Monday, June 20, 2016, to appeared before the senate over the utilization of N500 billion allegedly released to the aviation sector.

Minister Of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi

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 with Senate, 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.

Defending himself also, 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.”

Addressing the Senate also, 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.