The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has recovered 17 vehicles from former officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
The officials left with the vehicles after their retirements or disengagement.
Meanwhile, ICPC has intensified plans to recover more vehicles from the ex-officials of the agency who insisted of handing over their official vehicles to the authority left with them.
Keys to the vehicles were on Tuesday handed over to Engr. Saleh Dunoma, the Managing Director of FAAN, by Mr. Shintema Binga, the ICPC Zonal Commissioner, South West, at the authority’s headquarters in Lagos.
Some of brands recovered and handed over to FAAN’s management were Toyota Corolla, Toyota Avensis and Toyota Land Cruiser Prado.
Speaking shortly before the presentation of the vehicles to FAAN, Binga who was represented by Musa Islam Abubakar, the Chairman of ICPC, said ICPC was in FAAN in furtherance of their partnership and collaboration with the authority over the years, particularly in this instance of handing over the vehicles that they have recovered.
He explained that ICPC usually assist in whatever way they could intervene in accordance with their mandate and extant law of the land.
He added that FAAN had informed the commission that some of its officials illegally went away with their vehicles on retirement or disengagement while efforts to recover them proved abortive.
“Some of the vehicles were recovered and parked at our Lagos and Abuja offices. The outcome of that collaboration is why we are here today. It is not just the vehicles we are handing over today. Some of them were parked in our headquarters in Abuja while one of them was parked in our Lagos office. It is part of the ongoing process of the recovery”, the Zonal Commissioner said.
Although, Binga said that not all the vehicles have been returned, but that ICPC felt it is necessary they bring them back to FAAN so that they can be put to use instead of parking the vehicles and allowing them rot away. He however, assured that ICPC will be able to deliver the remaining ones in good time.
In his response, Dunoma who was represented by Salisu Daura, the Director of Engineering and Maintainance, appreciated ICPC for the vehicles recovery.
Daura said the vehicles were vital to FAAN’s operations, adding that what has transpired has debunked the prevalent notion that whenever ICPC seizes any item, that they don’t return it.
“We want to ask like Oliver Twist. There are more still remaining and a lot of officials are incapacitated as we are a self sustained agency. We plead on you to assist us recover the other ones”,Daura said.
