NAN reports that this is the second time the agency would be rejecting Innoson’s vehicles due to either non-compliance with specifications or mechanical fault.

“We will bring in a replacement brand new Innoson 30-seater bus to your client (News Agency of Nigeria) before the fourteen (14) days that you stated from the date of receipt of your letter and we shall retrieve the one supplied before now.

“We want to assure you that our business relationship will not be thwarted by any form of dissatisfaction for our desire is to serve our customers to the best of their satisfaction,” Mr Ojukwu stated.

In spite of the assurances in Mr Ojukwu’s correspondence, the replacement vehicle delivered to NAN on 8 April 2022 only worsened the agency’s transportation woes as it was dogged by successive mechanical faults.

Before the eventual evacuation of the vehicle to the Innoson Abuja office, the bus had been lying idle on the agency’s premises for several months due to mechanical faults.

The Agency’s Head of Technical Department, Aaron Miller, said the vehicle since delivery had been permanently grounded due to a faulty gearbox.

He said several appeals made to the Innoson Abuja office to evacuate the vehicle for repairs were ignored.

“We made several representations to them to repair this faulty gearbox all to no avail.

“On the three occasions their technicians showed up to ostensibly repair the vehicle, the problems persisted, causing embarrassment to the agency, ” he said.

Frustrated by the vehicle company’s noncommittal response in evacuating the vehicle, the agency issued another seven-day ultimatum to Innoson Abuja office in a letter dated 6 January.

This was to be followed by a final notice in a 16 January letter and the eventual towing of the faulty vehicle to the Abuja premises of Innoson on Tuesday after the company reneged on its pledge to evacuate the vehicle.

When a NAN correspondent contacted Mr Ojukwu on phone, he said the bus would be repaired.