Senate censures Oronto for use of military helicopter

President Goodluck Jonathan’s Special Adviser on Research Documentation and Strategy, Oronto Douglas was on Tuesday condemned by the Senate for employing the military helicopter that crashed at the weekend for shuttle service during his father's burial.
The helicopter, belonging to the Nigerian Navy, crashed in Bayelsa State, killing all six people aboard, including then-Governor of Kaduna State, Patrick Yakowa, and former National Security Adviser, General Owoye Azazi.
The Senate described the Federal Government’s inauguration of a panel of enquiry to investigate the circumstances surrounding the crash as inadequate, saying the report must be made public and anyone indicted punished.
Speaking at the floor of the Senate during a debate on a motion sponsored by Chris Anyanwu (PDP, Imo) on the urgent need to investigate the tragedy, Senator Olubunmi Adetumbi (ACN, Ekiti), argued that the use of the naval helicopter by an unauthorised person amounts to corruption and it must be condemned by every Nigerian.
Adetumbi said the death of Governor Yakowa, Mr. Azazi and others resulted from the failure of the system to address corruption, wondering how a military training helicopter could suddenly fall into the hands of politicians for use as a means of conveying guests at a burial ceremony.
He also urged Nigerians to ask important questions on who gave the order for the chopper to be used, the purpose of private charter helicopter, the reason a private chopper was not hired, and what the Navy appropriation is being used for.
Urging his colleagues to do more than paying tribute to the deceased and observing one-minute silence in their honour, the senator called for action to forestall future occurrences.
Many of his colleagues supported his position, lamenting that the country is gradually returning to past era of air crashes. They also gave their nod to the order mandating the Senate Committees on Navy, Air Force and Aviation to investigate the frequency of these mishaps.
Leading the debate, mover of the motion, Senator Chris Anyanwu, reminded her colleagues of two crashes of similar Augusta helicopters owned by the Navy in 2007 and 2011.
“Between March and October 2011, there were three reported cases of air mishaps by the Air force at different locations in the country and the causes of these crashes remain unknown. On 21st March 2011, one F7-NI fighter jet belonging to the Nigerian Air Force that was on a routine training programme crashed in Kano, killing the flight instructor,” she recalled.
“The fighter jet, which was reported to have come from Makurdi for a two-week training exercise, was delivered to the Air force by the manufacturers in China only a few days before the incident.”
She traced the resurgence of air crashes in the country “deep-seated systemic problems,” that must be made public.
Senator Heineken Lokpobiri (PDP Bayelsa) was more particular in advising the joint committee set up to investigate the issue against bias.
Senator Danjuma Goje, on his part, harped on openness and transparency on the part of the committee, adding that foreign experts could even be used for the investigation.
He described frequent crashes of military planes as an indication that the Military is unprepared for military action should the need arise.
Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the sitting, summed up the debate, urging his colleagues to help solve problems in the aviation sector.
The Senate also set up two committees to pay condolence visits to all the victims of the air crash, and observed a minute’s silence in their honour.