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The Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development has come under scrutiny after the Auditor-General for the Federation flagged payments totalling ₦522.49 million for firearms and ammunition without sufficient evidence that the items were delivered.

The allegation is contained in the Auditor-General for the Federation’s 2024 Annual Report on Non-Compliance and Internal Control Weaknesses in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

The report identified two separate procurements involving firearms and ammunition intended to strengthen security operations at airports across the country.

In the first case, the ministry reportedly paid ₦270.02 million through two payment vouchers for the procurement of AK rifles, red-dot sights and AK ammunition.

The payments, identified as IPC 1 and IPC 2, were made through vouchers referenced FMA/ABJ/CAP/1047/22 dated January 10, 2023, and FMA/ABJ/CAP/1445/21 dated May 23, 2023.

According to the audit report, the payment documents contained no evidence of approval from the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) for the procurement of the ammunition.

The auditors also found several documentation gaps, including the absence of the supplier’s quotation and documents relating to the company’s compliance with requirements of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Industrial Training Fund (ITF) and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

More significantly, the auditors said there was no Store Receipt Voucher (SRV) attached to the payment documents to confirm that the firearms and ammunition had actually been received by the ministry.

Firearms allegedly kept at NSCDC armoury

The audit report noted that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), in a request for Payment Certificate, claimed that the firearms had been supplied to the armoury of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Headquarters in Abuja for safekeeping.

The weapons were reportedly to remain there until FAAN completed its own armoury.

However, the Auditor-General said the ministry provided no supporting evidence confirming that the firearms were actually in the custody of the NSCDC Headquarters.

The audit authority consequently linked the lapses to weaknesses in the ministry’s internal control system, warning that such deficiencies could expose public funds to diversion and loss.

Ministry insists procurement was proper
In its response, the ministry maintained that the procurement was properly conducted and that all required approvals and procedures had been followed before payment.

It cited award and acceptance letters, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) documents, due-process review reports, Federal Executive Council (FEC) approvals, contract agreements and payment vouchers among the documents supporting the transactions.

The ministry also said a security clearance letter from the Office of the National Security Adviser relating to the company had been provided.

The Auditor-General, however, rejected the response as unsatisfactory, stating that its findings remained valid until the recommendations were implemented.
It recommended that the ministry’s Permanent Secretary be made to account to the Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly over the transaction.

It also recommended the recovery and remittance of ₦270.02 million to the Treasury.

Another ₦252.5m firearms payment flagged

The audit report raised similar concerns over a second payment of ₦252.47 million for sub-machine guns, pistols and ammunition meant to enhance aviation security at airports.
The money was paid through two vouchers referenced FMA/ABJ/CAP/1042/22 dated February 10, 2023, and FMA/ABJ/CAP/1441/21 dated May 23, 2023.

Again, the Auditor-General attributed the irregularities to weaknesses in the ministry’s internal controls.

The ministry maintained that all procurement requirements had been met and that the transaction did not violate the Financial Regulations or relevant government circulars.

It again referred to award and acceptance letters, BPP documents, due-process review reports, FEC approvals, contract agreements, NSA security clearance and payment vouchers.

The ministry further said a letter from FAAN’s Director of Finance and Accounts, dated August 7, 2025, forwarding a delivery note, had been provided as evidence that the contract was executed.

The Auditor-General nevertheless deemed the response unsatisfactory and maintained its findings pending implementation of the recommendations.

Auditor-General also queries ₦163.9m airport tower payments
In a separate finding, the Auditor-General flagged ₦163.92 million paid to six contractors for the construction of control towers at six airports.

Five contractors reportedly received ₦30.95 million each on June 1, 2023, while the sixth received ₦9.18 million.
The contracts were originally awarded on May 24, 2018, at a combined value of ₦4.46 billion.

The auditors said the projects remained incomplete, particularly their technical components, years after the contracts were awarded.

They also questioned agreements dated November 18, 2021, involving five of the contracts, which were executed by proxy between the ministry and representatives of local contractors acting on behalf of foreign companies based in the United Kingdom.

According to the report, there was no evidence of work corresponding to the amounts paid through the proxy contractors.
The auditors warned that executing agreements by proxy could make some contractual provisions difficult to enforce and expose the Federal Government to financial losses if the contractors defaulted.

Ministry blames delays on funding
Responding to the finding, the ministry said it had no direct contractual relationship with the foreign companies mentioned in the report.

It explained that agreements between the local contractors and the foreign firms demonstrated the commitment of the six contractors to the companies.

The ministry accepted the recommendation to take proactive measures to complete the projects and prevent further cost escalation.

However, it attributed delays to issues surrounding the release of funds by the Federal Government, while insisting that the contracts were awarded in compliance with procurement regulations.

The Auditor-General’s findings raise broader questions about documentation, delivery verification, contract execution and internal controls within the aviation sector.

The transactions are now expected to face further scrutiny from the relevant authorities, particularly the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committees, as they determine whether the funds were properly accounted for and whether the firearms, ammunition and airport infrastructure were delivered as claimed.

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Reigning Miss Austria beauty queen Lucia Sisic has died at the age of 22 after living with a lifelong heart condition.

Mission Austria, which organises the Miss Austria and Mister Austria beauty pageants, announced her death on Monday, describing it as a moment of “great shock and deep sorrow”.

No cause of death has been confirmed.

Sisic was crowned Miss Austria in 2024 and remained the reigning titleholder because no subsequent contest has yet taken place.

In a tribute, Mission Austria said Sisic would be remembered as a “wonderful young woman” and offered its condolences to her family, friends and those close to her.

Sisic had previously spoken publicly about her heart condition and the medical treatment she received throughout her life.

In 2024, she thanked the doctors and medical staff who cared for her as a child, saying their efforts had helped her overcome many difficult moments.

Sisic underwent seven operations related to her condition during her lifetime. She told Austrian media that her first operation took place shortly after she was born.

She also described how her condition affected her childhood, saying she was unable to participate in activities such as school sports weeks.

Despite her health challenges, Sisic pursued her career and became Miss Austria in 2024.

Herzkinder Österreich, an Austrian charity supporting children with heart conditions, also paid tribute to her.

The organisation described her death as untimely and said she had left the world “far too soon” at just 22.

The charity remembered Sisic as a warm-hearted and joyful young woman who had shown courage while living with a congenital heart condition.

Mission Austria said Sisic would always remain part of the Miss Austria family.

(BBC News)

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More flights are expected to be delayed in the United Kingdom (UK) after a technical problem with the country’s air traffic control system led to more than 2,000 cancellations.

A total of 291 flights were cancelled on Wednesday after 1,750 were cancelled on Tuesday, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Tens of thousands of passengers have been affected by the disruption.

National Air Traffic Services (NATS), the UK’s air traffic control provider, blamed the disruption on a technical glitch. Its chief executive, Martin Rolfe, apologised and said a full investigation would be carried out.

He admitted that resolving the problem had taken “longer than hoped”.

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband described the outage as “unacceptable”, while Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander summoned Rolfe to explain what happened.

The disruption affected several major UK airports, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham. Airports in Ireland also reported disruption.

At Heathrow, departures were initially paused on Tuesday before operations resumed and then faced further disruption later in the day.

Heathrow said its operations were recovering on Wednesday but warned passengers of further delays because aircraft and crew needed to be repositioned.

Gatwick also said flights had resumed but warned that it would take time for operations to return fully to normal.

Passengers have been advised to check directly with their airlines before travelling to airports. Heathrow said passengers should only travel if they have a confirmed flight.

The technical fault affected NATS’ flight data processing system. Rolfe said it was not the same system that failed during a major disruption in 2023.

However, the latest incident is the third technical problem experienced by NATS in three years. A computer shutdown in 2023 caused widespread disruption affecting around 700,000 passengers, while another outage in 2025 resulted in about 150 cancellations.

Airlines including Ryanair and Wizz Air have called for changes to NATS. Wizz Air UK managing director Yvonne Moynihan said the company needed to consider whether NATS was “fit for purpose”.

Despite the disruption, Rolfe defended the UK’s air traffic control system, saying it remained one of the best in the world.

However, former NATS air traffic control manager Doug Maclean said repeated failures were undermining the system’s reputation.

Even though the technical issue has been resolved, passengers are expected to face further disruption because of the backlog of flights, aircraft and crew.

NATS said it was working to restore normal operations as quickly as possible.

(BBC News)