Under fire former Minister of Energy, Dr Joe Oteng-Adjei, has revealed he has returned a state vehicle in his possession six months after exiting the post.

The minority in Parliament has accused him of still using one of the controversial luxurious vehicles bought with funds meant for rural electricity extension project.

Dr Oteng-Adjei admitted keeping the vehicle, but said it has been returned since Monday when the minority raised the red flag, maintaining he “didn’t steal it.”

“I have returned it to the ministry,” Dr Oteng-Adjei disclosed to Accra-based Joy FM on Tuesday. “l asked them to go and take it when I read the Daily Guide report… they actually came this morning and took the car away.”

Dr Oteng-Adjei explained he was still keeping the flashy Lexus vehicle because when he moved from the Energy Ministry to the Ministry of Environment and Science “their financial situation was a bit difficult” so he worked out with his previous ministry to keep the car “so that we don’t spend money to go and buy another car.”

A whopping $1,745,159 (Ghc5,584,508) at current exchange rate of the $350 million contract for the rural electrification project was spent on 38 luxury vehicles by the then Ministry of Energy (MoE) under Dr Oteng-Adjei.

The NDC government through a statement issued last week had distanced itself from the scandal, blaming the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the expenditure, saying it was the NPP that initiated the move when it was in government.

According to the NDC, the move started in 2006, given executive approval in 2007 and approved by Parliament in 2008.

But it turned out that the acquisition of luxurious vehicles like the Lexus LX570 which Dr Oteng-Adjei took away were not part of the project left for the NDC administration in 2009 to execute.

The luxurious vehicles purchased included 20 Ford F150 trucks at the cost of $700,769.64; two Grido Ford F150 at $120,949.56 and six Dodge Dakota SLT at $160,645.41.

The rest were three Ford Escapes costing $157,645.71; four Lexus LX570 at $438,921.57 as well as three Chrysler 300 at $166,217.13 – all totalling $1,745,159.02.

Additionally, there was the purchase of office equipment, including heavy-duty photocopiers, all totalling $51,757.39 with the grand total being $1,796,916.41.

However, there was no budgetary allocation for the purchases of the vehicles per the Auditor-General’s report. They were bought with money meant for extending electricity to 1,200 communities under the US Exim Bank loan between 2010 and 2012.