THE
face-off over the registration or otherwise of a Bombadier aircraft owned by the Rivers State
government took a twist on Thursday with the Federal Government threatening to
prosecute Rivers for forgery.
Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, said in a statement that the
clearance documents used by the aircraft had been discovered to be forged,
threatening that the state government would be prosecuted for the action which
the minister said amounted to a violation of the nation’s aviation laws as well
as other extant criminal laws of the land.
The statement issued on behalf of the minister by her Special
Assistant, Media, Joe Obi, reads in part, “The presentation of false
information or forged documentation to regulatory authorities in the processing
of official approvals or permits is clearly a serious violation of the Civil
Aviation Act, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations and other extant criminal
laws in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Upon conclusion of these internal investigations, the
Ministry will take all necessary steps required by law.”
Efforts to get the reaction of the Rivers State government to
the development on Thursday failed as several calls made to both the
Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari; and
Comunication for Transport, Mr. Tofolari George, were unaswered.
The aviation minister alleged that the flight clearance
documents used by the aircraft might have been forged because Caverton
Helicopters, whose name appeared on the clearance documents, had denied doing
so in a letter to the Federal Government.
According to her, the NCAA had discovered that the aircraft was
operating illegally within the Nigerian airspace.
Specifically, she said it was revealed that the aircraft did not
have a valid flight clearance for its operations on April 26, 2013 when
it was grounded in Akure as the last purported clearance obtained for the
aircraft expired on April 2, 2013.
She said, “Upon further investigation, however, it also emerged
that the last purported flight clearance (and indeed several flight clearances
previously obtained for this aircraft) had been obtained using the name of
Caverton Helicopters. A letter from Messrs Caverton Helicopters dated April 26,
2013 expressly disclaimed any knowledge of or involvement with the flight
clearances previously obtained in its name for the said aircraft.
“The NCAA’s investigations specifically further revealed that
the following flight clearances were obtained for the aircraft using the name
of Caverton Helicopters: Flight Clearance for 04 – 06 January 2013; Flight
Clearance for 23 – 27 January 2013; Flight Clearance for 28 March – 2 April
2013.
“In view of Caverton’s letter expressly denying its involvement
with the said clearances applications, the Ministry has directed the NCAA to
commence a full investigation into all the circumstances surrounding the false
clearance applications.”
Oduah explained that the flight clearance process was a
vital safety and security component of civil aviation worldwide.
She noted, “It requires the involvement of both the civil
aviation authorities and the national security agencies before approval is
given and full disclosure of the aircraft, passengers and crew must be provided
as required by law. The security implication of this requirement is further
emphasised where a foreign-registered aircraft (such as the current aircraft)
is engaged in domestic flight operations. Failure to fully disclose or
attempting to conceal the identities of passengers aboard an aircraft is
considered a serious security breach both locally and internationally.
“On April 26, 2013, the said aircraft was refused start-up
at Akure airport due to insufficient and improper documentation. Specifically,
the pilot failed and/or refused to file a proper passenger manifest declaring
the full identity of all passengers on the aircraft for the intended flight as
mandatorily required by the regulatory authorities.”
Aviation lawyers who spoke on the matter on Thursday, under
condition of anonymity, because of the sensitive nature of the matter, however
said that if investigation concluded that the clerance documents were forged,
the government could prosecute the American crew that flew the aircraft.
“The pilot in command is the sole person responsible for the
safety and security of any flight, including its documentation. Maybe
government can prosecute the American pilots that flew the plane. But I don’t
think the government can go far with this because there is politics in the
whole thing,” a reputable aviation lawyer told our correspondent.
The imbroglio over the Rivers State aircraft has generated a
bitter controversy since it was briefly grounded in Akure last week with
politics being read into the issue.
On Monday, the Peoples Democratic Party in Rivers State queried
Governor Rotimi Amaechi over the matter. The governor said the query was “sad
and laughable.”
On Tuesday, Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly,
Otelemaba Amachree, raised the alarm that the Felix Obuah-led PDP exco had
perfected a plot to impeach Ameachi using the unsuspended five members of the
House to carry out the impeachment and thus causing confusion in the state.
Twenty-seven, out of the 32 members of the Rivers assembly, had
been suspended on Monday by the Obuah-led exco but a court on Tuesday revoked
the suspension.
Source: Punch
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