Author: The Nation

 Kelvin Osa Okunbor

 

BOEING’S troubled 737 Max aircraft returned to the American skies on Tuesday after two years.

It conveyed passengers in the United States for the first time since it was banned from carrying passengers two years ago.

The passengers were conveyed aboard American Airlines Flight 718, which left Miami around 10:30 a.m.

The plane was scheduled to land in New York at 1:30 p.m. before making the return trip in the afternoon, ending a long and difficult chapter for Boeing.

The return of Boeing Max to the skies will be good news to the Nigerian Aviation sector as three Nigerian carriers – Arik Air, Air Peace and Green African Airways – had placed orders for the controversial aircraft type.

The carriers had not cancelled the orders, despite fatal crashes involving the aircraft type.

The status of the transaction with the Boeing Corporation remains work in progress.

While Air Peace placed an order for 10 Boeing Max aircraft, Green African Airways and Arik Air placed orders for an unspecific number.

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The Max was grounded worldwide in March 2019 after 346 people were killed in a pair of crashes, separated by months, in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

The accidents and revelations about the plane’s shortcomings sullied the company’s reputation and cost it billions of dollars in damages, government fines and lost orders.

America’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which has been criticised by lawmakers and safety experts for doing a poor job in certifying the Max in the first place, last month, became the first major regulator to lift its grounding order.

It directed Boeing and the airlines that use the Max to install software updates, modify wiring and make other changes to the plane before it could fly again.

The FAA has since been joined by regulators in Brazil; Canadian and European aviation officials are expected to follow with approvals within weeks.

But the families of those killed aboard the two flights argue that the Max is still unfit to fly.

 

Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

 

THE Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned the alleged certificate forgery case of the All Progressives Congress (APC) against Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki till today.

At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, the APC, through its counsel, Mr. Akin Olujimi (SAN), attempted to tender some documents in evidence through a subpoenaed witness.

But the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Obaseki objected to the tendering of the documents on the grounds that the process did conform with the laws guiding admissibility of documents.

Obseki’s counsel, Mr. Ken Mozia (SAN), averred that there was no evidence of payment for the documents.

The judge, Justice Ahmed Mohammed, admitted the document, an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) form EC9 in evidence, as Exhibit PL2.

Justice Mohammed admitted the document on the grounds that it was relevant to the case.

In a short ruling, the judge allowed the witness to give his evidence, saying the lapses complained by Obaseki and PDP lawyers were on the part of the court and not the plaintiff.

Justice Mohammed adjourned the matter till today for the plaintiffs to close their case and for the defence to open theirs.

Read Also: Court stays hearing in suit to sack Obaseki

Also, a Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out a suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate in the last governorship election in Edo State, Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

The PDP had, by the suit, challenged Ize-Iyamu’s qualification to participate in the election held on September 19, 2020.

The party claimed that the APC did not hold a valid primary from which its candidate was chosen.

In a judgment on Tuesday, Justice Ahmed Mohammed upheld the arguments by lawyers to the APC and its candidate, including Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), to the effect that the suit was spent.

Justice Mohammed held that since the election had been held, with APC and its candidate losing, the suit was no longer of any value for the plaintiff.

The judge further held that since the APC and its candidate were also not challenging the outcome of the election, the case had become a mere academic exercise.

He held that there was no longer any legal benefit that could accrue to the plaintiff should the court uphold its case.

The judge then struck out the suit.

 

 

 

 Sanni Onogu, Abuja

 

THE Senate Committee on Public Accounts has said it uncovered how the Ministry of Defence paid N968.8 million for the production and supply of medals and ribbons for the Armed Forces to celebrate an Independence Anniversary without approval from the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and the Ministerial Tenders’ Board.

The 2015 Audit Report by the Auditor General of the Federation (AuGF), now before the committee, revealed how officials of the ministry facilitated the payment for the contract, despite the objection raised by the Deputy Director (Budget) in a memo, dated April 24, 2013.

The Senate Committee, chaired by Matthew Urhoghide (Edo South), resolved to sustain the indictment against the ministry due to the failure of its officials to appear before it to defend the allegation.

Urhoghide said the ministry did not respond to several invitations on the matter, hence its decision to sustain the query.

According to the report, the contract was awarded in 2010 and 50 per cent of the contract sum was paid to the contractor while the balance was paid on January 26, 2015, to the contractor.

Read Also: Senate President calls for the unity of the country

The audit query reads: “The Permanent Secretary in the ministry is expected to recover N968 million from the contractor and forward the payment for audit verification.

“A memorandum, dated April 24, 2013, raised by DD (Deputy Director) Budget, had expressed misgivings about the way and manner the contract was awarded, further raising doubts about the lack of transparency.

“A contract for the production and supply of medals and ribbons for Independence Anniversary for the Armed Forces of Nigeria was awarded at a total contract sum of N968,830,000.00.

“The entire contract sum had been paid in January (2015). The sum N484,415,000.00 was paid in 2010, representing 50 per cent of the contract sum, and the balance of N484,415,000.00 was paid on January 26, 2015, vide Payment Voucher No. 4001.