Oduah: Senate summons heads of aviation parastatals.

Heads of the various agencies under the Federal Ministry of Aviation are to appear before the Senate today (Wednesday), sources at some of the affected parastatals told our correspondent on Tuesday.

This, according to some senior officials of the agencies, was not unconnected with the scandal that had rocked the aviation sector in the past weeks.
The agencies under the ministry are the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Nigeria Airspace Management Agency, Accident Investigation Bureau and the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology.
It was learnt that the Senate Committee on Aviation might also make public its recommendations on the outcome of the series of hearings which it conducted last week on the purchase of two BMW bulletproof cars for the Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah by the NCAA.

Our correspondent gathered that FAAN had to cancel a planned conference scheduled for today (Wednesday) with stakeholders in the aviation industry after it received “the abrupt summon by the senate.”

A senior personnel at the authority said, “FAAN had no choice but to postpone its second yearly forum which it normally organises for stakeholders in aviation business. The programme was supposed to hold tomorrow (Wednesday), but it has been postponed by two weeks.

“This is because the Senate has summoned all heads of parastatals in the sector to appear before it on Wednesday.”

Asked if the summon by the Senate was as a result of the scandal rocking the sector, the source said, “Of course it might be connected to that. I cannot authoritatively tell you, but an average mind who has been following happenings in the sector will expect the Senate to talk about these issues.”

The PUNCH on Tuesday reported that the embattled minister might also appear before the Senate plenary on Wednesday to explain her roles in the October 3, 2013 Associated Airlines plane crash in Lagos.