The Federal Government has reacted to media reports that the Minister of State for Air Transportation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode may be sacked by President Olusegun Obasanjo for his alleged involvement in illegal movement of N11 billion aviation fund into two accounts and his being signitary to the accounts of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), saying that Chief Fani-Kayode still retains his ministerial position.
Addressing pressmen at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos (MMIA) yesterday, the Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Mallam Uba Sani said that the President sacked the personal assistant to the Minister, Mr. Deremi Ajihadun who without the authorisation or the consent of the Minister signed a cheque for lodgement into the FAAN account.
Mallam Sani explained that Ajihadun was sacked because his action contravened the civil service rule, which states that political appointees should not be signitary to such account.
“The President also frowned at the findings that one of the assistants to the Honourable Minister, Mr. Deremi Ajihadun without the authorisation or consent of the Minister signed for a cheque for lodgement into FAAN account. The President ordered the sack of Mr. Deremi given that this contravened civil service rules,” Sani told journalists.
The Special Assistant also debunked the claim that the Minister of Transport, Chief Cornelius Adebayo was told by the President to take full charge of the Air Transportation in the ministrty, stressing that there was no “iota of fraud or misapplication or misappropriation of fund was detected in the Ministrty of Air Transportation under Chief Femi Fani-Kayode.”
He explained that what happened last Friday was that the Presidet received full briefing from a standing committee loking into activities of parastatals under the Air Transportation Ministry headed by Captain Shehu Usman Iyal, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Aviation Matters.
Sani told newsmen that the committee report noted that in the Ministry’s haste to begin up-grading infrastructures in the nation’s airports following the series of air crashes in the country before the Federal Government released money, the Ministry obtained loan from Zenith bank, adding that this was the subject of the briefing to the President.
He further explained, “On the issue of the managing director of FAAN (Mohammed Yusufu), the President noted the committee’s indictment of the MD for serial insurbodination to the honourable Minister of Air Transportation and promptly asked him to tender unreserved apology to the Minister. Which he did there and then. The President further secured an undertaking from the FAAN MD to subsequently be of good behaviour and cooperate with the Minister.”
It could be recalled that the FAAN MD was sacked on Wednesday last week and was reinstated by the President two days later, on Friday during the supposed briefing.
Reports also indicated that the President was angry with Chief Kani Fayode who arbitrarily removed parastatal heads at whim and was said to have reprimanded the Minister of Transport, Chief Adebayo for suggesting to inspect activities in aviation parastatals.
The N11 billion that was allegedly moved into two accounts by the Minister was part of the N19. 5 billion aviation intervention fund, �which was supposed to be used for provision of landing aid and other facilities in preparation for International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) audit that visited last November.