The
total sum of N375m used to purchase bulletproof cars for the Minister
of Aviation, Ms Stella Oduah, can build 150 classrooms, calculations by
Sunday Punch have shown.
The sum can also pay the monthly wages
of 20,833 workers, based on workers who receive the N18,000.00 minimum
wage approved by the National Assembly.
The sum of N255m was spent by the
Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority to buy two bulletproof BMW cars for the
Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah, and the Federal Airport
Authority of Nigeria, also reportedly bought her two bulletproof Lexus
Limousines at N120m, bringing the total amount, revealed so far, to
N375m.
It also means that the cost of the cars
can put food on the table of over 20, 000 Nigerian families within a
period of one month.
Apart from wages, the money can provide
infrastructure such as health care facilities, schools, correctional
centres, resettlement camps, among others.
While facing the House of
Representative Committee on Aviation, Oduah denied that the vehicles
were bought for her, but neither her nor the heads of NCAA, FAAN have
denied the amounts spent on them.
According to a quantity surveyor, who
did not want to be named, about N15m could build a block of six
classrooms, while about N10m could raise the structure of a paediatric
ward in a hospital.
Going by that estimate, if the price
inflation that characterises government projects is eliminated, N375m
can build 150 classrooms in public primary or secondary schools, and at
least 37 wards in public hospitals.
“In fact, with N300m, you can build an
ultra-modern school. I’m currently involved in the construction an
ultra-modern school for the blind, and the cost is just about N300m;
that is minus the profit of the contractor,” the quantity surveyor said.
A professor of economics, Sherifdeen
Tella, told SUNDAY PUNCH that wastage of public fund in purchase of
those vehicles was made worse by the fact that the vehicles were
imported, creating jobs for people in other countries.
He said, “If that money had been invested in something produced in the country, it would have helped to generate employment.
“Spending such amount of money to
import the cars that we don’t need is only creating jobs for other
countries and killing jobs in Nigeria. If that money was injected into
agriculture or used to help small-scale businesses at least, it would
have benefitted Nigerians.”
Tella, who was the Vice-Chancellor of
the Crescent University, added that wasteful spending such as the
purchase of the cars had led to Nigeria becoming cash-strapped.
Source: Punch Nigeria
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