Reps vow to retrieve govt helicopters sold to individuals

• Kuye expressed concern about the sale of the helicopters to private individuals, leaving the college without any for training purposes
  

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The House of Representatives has pledged to reclaim two Bell helicopters, Bell 206L4 BZB and Bell M2061-L4, previously owned by the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria, and sold to private buyers.

Ademorin Kuye, Chairman of the House Committee on Public Assets, made this declaration during an investigative hearing in Abuja on Thursday.

Kuye expressed concern about the sale of the helicopters to private individuals, leaving the college without any for training purposes.

The committee also questioned the sale process, as several security agencies, including the Nigerian Air Force, Navy, and Police, expressed interest in purchasing them, only to be denied by NCAT management. Acting Rector of NCAT, Mr. Shaka Imalighwe, clarified that although he was the deputy rector when the sales occurred, he was not involved in the sales committee.

Imalighwe said that he took over the management of the college in an acting capacity in January 2024.

The committee said despite initial appeals to NCAT to provide certain documents regarding the process that led to the sale of the helicopters in May 2023, they had not been able to provide it.

This, according to him, was in respect of approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and the Ministry of Aviation as well as newspaper publication advertising the intention to sell the helicopters.

Imalighwe told the committee that the helicopters were in service and being maintained by relevant aviation bodies when they were sold.

The acting rector of the college also confirmed to the lawmakers that, at the moment, there was no single helicopter in the institution for training.

The lawmakers argued that it was wrong for NCAT to have used an unlicensed auctioneer to sell the helicopters.

The committee directed the immediate past and current Minister of Aviation to appear before it in the next investigative hearing.

Also summoned were the Ministry of Works, Ministry of Finance Incorporated, and MOFI, and both immediate past and present Rectors of the College, among others.