NCAA Refutes Claim DG Spent N250 Million On Official Vehicle

THE Director General, Capt. Chris Najomo, of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), has refuted claims that he purchased a 2022 Toyota Landcruiser for more than N250 million.

Prior to this, Najomo was charged with being deeply involved in allegations of financial irresponsibility, breaking rules governing government procurement, and egregious misconduct in office shortly after taking office.

The information was allegedly leaked by an Authority source who claimed that the National Assembly had not approved the NCAA budget's allotment for the purchase of this specific car.

In addition, it was reported that during the week he took over as interim director general, 109 employees had their overseas training authorized at a cost above N1 billion.

However, Michael Achimugu, the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the NCAA, responded to the new accusations in Abuja by calling them a fabricated and well-funded attempt to discredit the organization.

This occurred despite the aviation agency threatening to sue the online media outlet accountable for the accusations if the news article was not removed.

Achimugu stressed that they adhere to stringent procurement procedures and requirements because they are a responsible government body.

He stated: “The NCAA has not paid any dime not, not just 250 million naira, any amount of money for any vehicle anywhere in the world and you can quote me on that and I challenge this person to present any evidence and I will tender my resignation letter the same day and I will ask the DG to resign as well.

“I will say this with every confidence, the NCAA has not paid any money for any vehicle anywhere. To purchase anything here but go through a process. You can quote me on that. And I challenge this person to present evidence of these and I will tender my resignation, and not only that, I will ask for the DG's resignation as well.

“I say this with every confidence that the NCAA has not paid any money for any vehicle anywhere. To purchase anything here you must go through a process- you can not escape it and we have not been through that process, how then did we purchase a vehicle worth N250 million.

“Also that figure goes above the purview of the DG to approve by himself so how did this happen? How will you publish an investigative story without putting the evidence? So, I believe very strongly that it is a sponsored attempt to denigrate not only the person of the DG NCAA but everybody who is proud to work in NCAA.

“Also, most of this is premised on the statement made by the Minister that the Aviation Industry is corrupt, but when the Minister spoke about corruption what he meant is that there is systemic corruption in the industry he did not say Captain Chris Najomo is corrupt.”