ABUJA – Senate yesterday investigated the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Ministry of Transport and some airlines over the alleged diversion of one hundred and twenty billion naira intervention funds by the federal government through the Bank of Industry in 2011.
Recall that the CBN had in 2011, secured five hundred billion naira loan from the Bank of Industry for disbursement to the aviation sector, Small and Medium Scale Industries, and Ministries of Power and Steel Development, as a way to rescue the sectors from financial distress.
Since then, there were reports that the funds, especially the one hundred and twenty billion for the aviation sector, had been diverted to other purposes against what the funds were originally intended.
To unravel the true situation of things, the committee on aviation, yesterday commenced the probe on how the funds were disbursed and the recovery that has been made so far.
Senate at a probe exercise on the fund by its Committee on Aviation and Anti- Corruption, in particular frowned at the way the N120billion allocated to the Aviation sector as bailout, from the entire N500billion intervention fund, was mismanaged by diversion.
This was even as the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, told the committee that his ministry and agencies under it, based on available records, were not aware of the fund.
A submission that made the committee to demand from the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, represented by a Director, Mudashiru Olaitan, to explain how the money was used in view of financial related problems still bedeviling the sector.
The CBN representative in his submission, said out of the N120billion intervention fund injected into the sector, only N39.5 billion have been recovered while the remains N81.2billion is still outstanding.
He admitted that some of the ten Airlines that benefitted from the fund, are now moribund or out rightly folded up which according to him, was against the intent of the fund.
He specifically named AirNigeria and Chanchangi Airlines as the already folded up ones while Arik, Dana, Aero, Kabo, Overland, First Nation, Odenegene are the ones still in operation on the strength of the fund.
When probed on why two out of the ten airlines folded up inspite of the intervention fund, he said responsibility for monitoring the implementation of the fund by the beneficiaries was given to Bank of Industry (BOI) being the facilitator of the loans to them.
But other stakeholders at the session like John Nnorom who served as Finance Director of now defunct AirNigeria, said diversion of the fund to other ventures led to the collapse of the Airline.
According to him, ” the N34.5 billion drawn from the fund by the Airline, was diverted to other personal business by the owner of the Airline, Jimoh Ibrahim.
“The very moment the N34.5 billion intervention fund was paid into the Airline’s account with United Bank for Africa (UBA), it disappeared into one of the private accounts of the owner without any amount from the fund injected into the Airline, paving the way for its eventual collapse”, he said.
Efforts by the committee to make further enquiries about the alleged diversion, was frustrated with the absence of BOI Managing Director and other relevant stakeholders.
The committee however directed that the CBN Governor himself and heads of other agencies including Airlines, must appear in person before it tomorrow (today).
The Chairman of the Committee, Senator Hope Uzodinma, had earlier in his address said that it was a disturbing development for the committee, to learn of allegations that monies injected into the aviation sector through the intervention fund , were not properly utilized for for purposes to which they were meant for.
