The Ministry of Aviation, the National Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the management of Caverton Helicopters have been indicted by the findings of the Federal House of Representatives committee inaugurated to investigate the circumstances surrounding the grounding of an aircraft belonging to the Rivers State Government.
Although the report is yet to be formally presented to the lower legislative chamber, its content reveal that officials of Caverton Helicopter were pressurized into denying their relationship with the government of Rivers State and that the NCAA and aviation ministry unprofessionally denied knowledge of the ownership of the aircraft.
It indicted Caverton Helicopters for falsifying the documents it presented to the aviation authorities, claiming that this action was responsible for the grounding of the aircraft. It further recommended prosecution of all complicit persons and parties by the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Mohammed Adoke.
The committee lamented that the aviation ministry and its departments ignored calls to submit a list of all private jets and owners and documentations for examination and comparism of their treatment with the Rivers State case.
It described the attitude as an attempt to to conceal the truth, which is that many of the aircrafts in operation are running on expired permits or licenses, as this would in turn invalidate the case against the Rivers State government.
