BY Emma Ovuakporie
ABUJA—Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, yesterday, waded into the sudden disappearance of over N25 billion from the accounts of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN.

It was reliably gathered that the money remitted into the agency’s account by a revenue concessionaire called Maevis suddenly developed wings and vanished from the accounts of the aviation agency.

Spokesman of EFCC, Femi Babafemi, confirmed that the anti-graft agency was already investigating the matter, as there was a petition to that effect.

It was also gathered that another N40 billion FAAN had collected in the oil and gas concession allegedly developed legs and walked out of the coffers of FAAN.

Sources told Vanguard that the Minister of Aviation, Fidelia Njeze, had set up a review panel to look at the deal between FAAN and Maevis as well as the allegations of misappropriation of the funds but to date, the report of the panel with reference number FMA/FAAN/7090/173/February 2010 was yet to receive any attention.

The petition,  forwarded to the anti-graft commission by Kaduna-based Transparency Centre Network said,  “the management of FAAN has collected not less than N25 billion from the MAEVIS project and $6 million in the last 28 months.”

The management cannot account for this huge money which was generated from only 6 sources.”

According to a petition signed by TCN’s Umar Farouk, part of the money was deposited in private account of an official of FAAN, adding that the FAAN management has frustrated attempts to computerize other sources of revenue because it hinder personal mismanagement of the funds.

The petition read in part; “The FAAN top management seem not comfortable with any arrangement that does not allow direct collection of money manually.

“Over 50% of the FAAN concessionaires in food and beverages and oil and gas are not documented with any agreements as many of them are owned by fronts of the top managers.

“FAAN managers have frustrated further attempts to recover about N40 billion in oil and gas concession and the minister of aviation is aware of this because she set up a review panel and the report is lying on her table without implementation. Ref FMA/FAAN/7090/173, February 2010.”