In addition to the two new luxury helicopters ordered by President
Goodluck Jonathan from the Anglo-Italian AgustaWestland at a cost of
$40 million, as SaharaReporters reported earlier today, we have
learned that the government made a deposit of another $9 million for a
Hawker 4000 jet.
In 2012 budget an additional $12 million was budgeted to complete the
purchase of the jet.
But that money is now tied up in court, as our investigation has
revealed that the manufacturer, Hawker Beechraft, entered into
bankruptcy proceedings in the US District Court of Southern New York
last May.
Curiously, the purchase notice was initiated by one Group Captain Ma
Yakubu, who gave away the $9 million using the address of "Nigerian
Presidential Wing, Nnamdi AzikiweInternational Airport, Presidential
Air Fleet Abuja, Nigeria." His phone number and email addresses were
listed as follows:
+234 8052088048 and Maminuyana@Yahoo.Com.
Our sources say this is highly unusual, as thepurchase order would
normally have emanated not from an airport, but from within the
presidency, the Ministry of Aviation or the Nigerian Air Force.
Yesterday's crash of a Nigeria navy executiveAgusta 109E helicopter,
which killed Kaduna State Governor Patrick Yakowa, former NSA Andrew
Owoye Azazi and four others, while doing private errands for
presidential aide Oronto Douglas, demonstrates how public property is
routinely converted to private benefit especially in a corrupt
administration.
The presidency currently has at its disposal about 11 jets, many of
them running errands on a daily basis for privileged officials and
their relatives. When those are not enough, they call for similar
equipment that belong to the armed forces, the Nigeria Police, the
Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, and similar offices.
"Yesterday, the naval helicopter was abused throughout the day, like a
free taxi cab, until it simply fell out of the sky," an analyst told
SaharaReporters.
The two helicopters on order by Mr. Jonathan will cost Nigeria $40
million, but it is unclear how many similar equipment may be on order
around the world, or have already been bought or delivered, because
government officials often account to nobody. The tracking of most
contracts is non-existent after they have been awarded.
SaharaReporters has written to Group Captain Yakubu in an effort to
obtain furtherinformation about the aborted purchase of the Hawker
4000 jet.
The US District court has approved Hawker Beechcraft's plan to emerge
from bankruptcy as a slimmer corporation, also last week the court
authorized the company to sell off its entire inventory of Hawker 4000
jets at $20 million each.
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