Philip Nyam 
The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC), yesterday quizzed the management of an Insurance Company, Northlink Insurance Brokers Plc for insuring two grounded aircrafts of the Nigeran Immigration Services. The grounded 14-seaters Dornier 228-101-5N-AUZ(FER) and 228-101-5N-AUW (FER) aircraft were insured at the sum of N198.500 million with a renewal premium of N13,409,800 paid. The insurance cover was 2015/2016 insurance period.
The committee members were enraged when the head, technical department of the Northlink Insurance, Mr. Nse Uyo Nya, disclosed that they only carried out physical inspection on the two aircrafts without technical inspection to determine their airworthiness as required by the nation’s aviation regulations.
When the committee demanded for the certificates of the airworthiness of the aircraft, Mr. Nya said the pilot of the aircraft, who was an employee of the Nigeran Immigration Services, who was present during the physical inspection, only confirmed the airworthiness to him verbally. According to him, “To en-able us effect the cover, we visited Dana Airways premises, old Kaduna Airport, Kaduna State, where the aircrafts were parked.
“We carried out a physical inspection with the help of the pilot, Kiena, who took us round the aircraft and confirmed to us that the aircraft are air worthy and that he just came back from a border patrol with one of the aircraft.” As a result, the lawmakers insisted that with the submission, it was clear that the insurance company “received the N13.4 million premium under false pretense thereby defrauding the Federal Government of the amount”.