The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has dismissed allegations that its acting Director-General, Chris Najomo, purchased a vehicle worth N250 million.
This was disclosed in a press briefing at the NCAA headquarters in Abuja on Monday.
The agency, represented by its Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, said the figure was outrageous and above the purview of the money the DG could approve for himself.
Last week, it was reported that just a few months after his appointment, Najomo was accused of financial mismanagement, breaches of government procurement regulations and significant abuse of office.
The report claimed that the agency purchased a 2022 brand of Toyota Land Cruiser (70th Anniversary Edition) worth over N250m as the official vehicle for the DG.
Reacting to the claim, Achimugu said the claim was false, saying, “I know for certain and I am saying it for the record that the NCAA has not paid any dime as payment for any vehicle anywhere in the world since Captain Najomo came to office.
“To purchase anything in NCAA, you must go through a process and we have not gone through that process, so how do we purchase a N250m vehicle? Also, do not forget that the figure is most likely above the purview of the DG to approve for himself.”
He added that since Najomo came into office, the 11 directors heading various departments were yet to be assigned official vehicles.
“The acting DG told the directors that none of the 11 of us would get our official vehicles at the moment,” he said.
Achimigu stated that following the settlements of the housing arrears owed to its employees, they (employees) can now focus on their work with motivation.
“Housing arrears owed to our personnel since 2019 were cleared by Capt Chris Najomo, it has brought great relief to our workers,” he noted.
Achimugu also said, “He (Najomo) also made sure staff who were due for promotions but were stagnated, got their promotions. He believes that when staff are motivated to work through proper welfare, the work will go on smoothly. So, he approved the promotion of stagnated staff to their next rank.”