Aviation Ministry Under Fire Over N522m Spent on Undelivered Guns, Ammunition

The Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development has come under scrutiny after an audit report revealed that N522.49 million was paid for guns and ammunition, with auditors finding insufficient evidence to confirm that the items were delivered.

The disclosure is contained in the 2024 Annual Report on Non-Compliance and Internal Control Weaknesses in Ministries, Departments and Agencies issued by the Auditor-General for the Federation.

According to the report, the ministry spent N270,020,066.80 on the procurement of AK rifles, red dots and AK ammunition intended to strengthen security operations at the nation’s airports.

The payments were made through two vouchers dated January 10 and May 23, 2023.

The auditors raised concerns over the transaction, noting that no evidence was attached to the payment vouchers to establish that the items had been received by the ministry.

“There was no approval from the National Security Adviser (NSA) to procure the ammunition,” the report stated.

It also noted that the company’s quotation for the firearms and ammunition was not attached to the vouchers, while several due process documents, including CAC, NSITF, ITF and FIRS documents, were also missing.

More importantly, the auditors said there was no Store Receipt Voucher to establish that the items had actually been received.

The ministry had claimed in a payment request that the firearms were executed and supplied to the armoury of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) headquarters in Abuja for safekeeping until the completion of the authority’s own armoury.

However, the auditors said they found no document or other evidence confirming that the firearms were actually in the custody of the NSCDC headquarters.

“The above anomalies could be attributed to weaknesses in the internal control system at the Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Abuja and risks diversion of public funds, loss of public funds,” the report said.

The ministry rejected the concerns raised by the auditors, insisting that the procurement had gone through the required procedures.

It said the contract could be verified and that all necessary approvals and procurement documents had been obtained before payment.

“The necessary procurement documents and approvals were duly obtained. The procurement processes and procedures were duly followed before payments were made,” the ministry stated.

It said the documents included award and acceptance letters, Bureau of Public Procurement documents, due process review reports, Federal Executive Council approval, the contract agreement, payment vouchers and a security clearance from the Office of the National Security Adviser.

The ministry also attached what it described as the relevant clearance from the NSA.

The auditor, however, was not satisfied with the explanation and maintained its original finding.

The report subsequently recommended that the permanent secretary of the ministry should account to the Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly over the expenditure and recover N270,020,066.80 for remittance to the Treasury.

A separate transaction involving another N252,470,282.20 also came under scrutiny.

The money was paid through two vouchers dated February 10 and May 23, 2023, for the procurement of sub-machine guns, pistols and ammunition to improve security at the country’s airports.

Again, the auditors identified weaknesses in the documentation and evidence supporting the transaction.

The ministry maintained that the procurement procedures had been followed and that the necessary approvals had been secured.

“The Procurement processes and procedures were duly followed before payments were made,” the ministry said.

It added that it had not violated financial regulations or existing government circulars because all required procurement documents had been obtained.

The ministry further referred to a security clearance from the Office of the National Security Adviser and a letter from the Director of Finance and Accounts of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria dated August 7, 2025, which it said forwarded a delivery note.

The ministry maintained that the contract had been duly executed and therefore argued that the auditor’s concern was not applicable.

The auditors nevertheless rejected the response as unsatisfactory, leaving the finding valid until the recommendations are implemented.

Taken together, the two transactions amounted to N522,490,349. The audit findings have therefore raised concerns about the controls surrounding the procurement and payment for firearms intended for use in protecting Nigeria’s airports.

The report also questioned another N163.92 million paid to six contractors involved in the construction of control towers at six airports.

According to the audit, five contractors received N30,947,309.22 each on June 1, 2023, while another received N9,182,397.59.

The contracts were reportedly awarded on May 24, 2018, at a combined contract sum of N4,459,075,994.19, but remained incomplete, particularly in the technical aspects, six years after they were awarded.

The audit report raised concerns over the fact that agreements relating to five of the contracts were executed by proxy between the ministry and representative contractors acting on behalf of foreign companies based in the United Kingdom.

It also said there was no evidence showing that work had been done for the money paid through the representatives.

“There was no evidence of work done for the sum paid by proxy to the representative contractors,” the report stated.

The auditors warned that executing the agreements through representatives could make some of the contractual provisions difficult to enforce and expose the Federal Government to financial losses if the projects were not completed.

The ministry, however, said it had no direct agreement with the foreign company and that the arrangements between the six contractors and the foreign company established their commitments.

The ministry also said completion of the projects depended on the timely release of funds by the Federal Government.

It assured the auditors that procurement regulations were followed during the award of the contracts.