The Ministry of Aviation on Sunday said it was not indicted by the House of Representatives investigative report on the recent grounding of a jet which belongs to Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi.
The Special Assistant to the Minister of Aviation on Media, Mr. Joe Obi, told our correspondent in an interview that the statements claiming that the minister was also indicted were incorrect.
He said the House committee only submitted a report and the recommendations of the report had not been debated by the members of the entire House, adding that it would be wrong and premature to state that the ministry was culpable.
He said, "It is just a recommendation of the committee presented to the House and they will schedule it for debate. When they have debated and recommendations are adopted, then it becomes a document of the House. So you don't begin to make statements that the House has indicted the aviation minister or the ministry. It is not correct."
A House of Representatives committee report of an investigation into the matter had on Wednesday stated that the aviation ministry's allegation that Rivers State Government falsified permits used in operating its aircraft was a deliberate falsehood that could not be substantiated.
The committee, according to the report, also urged the ministry to desist from undue interference in the day-to-day operations of the aviation regulatory authorities as envisaged by law.
Obi further argued that the report had not gone through the stipulated processes in the House of Representatives, stressing that until this was done, it could not be regarded as a document that indicts the ministry.
Obi added, "The report is not yet a document of the House of Representatives because it has not been gazetted and its recommendations have not been adopted as the normal procedure requires."
Meanwhile, Caverton on Sunday denied the existence of a contractual relationship with the Rivers State Government.
The aviation company also demanded concrete evidence from "those who claim otherwise."
Caverton Helicopters said it was surprising how the House Committees on Justice and Aviation arrived at "such weighty position and recommendation without an independent, forensic investigation and without any counter-veiling evidence other than the mere say-so of a party to a dispute."
"We expected more rigour, more nuance, more balance, and greater restraint from such an august body," added the statement by Mr. Waziri Adio, communication consultant to Caverton Helicopters.
"We challenge those who insist on manufacturing an 'agency relationship', where none exists, to show concrete evidence."
The company maintained that the only relationship it had on the aircraft was an "unconsummated" one.
It added, "After the grounding of the aircraft in April 2013, we surprisingly found out that our name had been used severally to apply for flight clearance permits for the same aircraft to allow it to fly within the country due to its foreign registration status. Those requests were forged, and we have said so to the regulatory authorities. The attempt to say that because we were involved with a request for aircraft importation in August 2012 means we were also necessarily involved with requests for flight clearances in 2013, despite our denial, tasks elementary logic to breaking point."
Caverton Helicopters added that as a business, it would never deny any of its clients.
It stated, "We have nothing to gain from denying our clients. But we cannot be bullied, intimidated and blackmailed into admitting a fictitious relationship."
The Punch