Jonathan Under-pressure To Sack Stella Oduah

President Goodluck has come under
intense pressure to sack the Minister
of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah, over
the bulletproof car scandal rocking
the ministry.
The call for the minister’s removal
followed the ministry’s confirmation
on Wednesday that the Nigerian Civil
Aviation Authority bought two
bulletproof vehicles worth $1.6m
(N255m) for the minister.
SUNDAY PUNCH gathered on Friday
that the president’s associates have
told him to remove Oduah to save
the reputation of his administration.
“She has to go. We have told the
President that. This disgrace is too
much,” one of the president’s close
associates told one of our
correspondents.
An online news medium,
SaharaReporters, had reported on
Tuesday that the armoured vehicles
were delivered to the minister in
August.
It reported that documents in its
possession showed that the
transaction for the purchase of the
two BMW cars started in June, but
the request for the delivery and
payment for them was fast-tracked
between August 13 and 15, 2013.
The NCAA on Friday said the cars
were in its possession and are used
to “convey the minister and visiting
foreign dignitaries.”
This contradicted the statement of
the minister’s aide, Mr. Joel Obi. who
had earlier admitted that the cars
were purchased because Oduah’s
life was in danger.
Following the development, civil
society groups, on Friday, called on
President Goodluck Jonathan to
immediately sack and order the
prosecution of Oduah.
Leaders of the Civil Liberties
Organisation, Coalition Against
Corrupt Leaders and Campaign for
Democracy, who spoke to SUNDAY
PUNCH in separate interviews, said
the minister’s acceptance of the cars,
amounted to receiving a bribe to
neglect her duty, leading to the loss
of lives in plane crashes that had
occurred during her tenure.
The Executive Director of CLO, Mr.
Ibuchukwu Ezike, described the
minister’s action as evidence of the
level to which impunity had grown
among public officers because of the
Federal Government’s inability to
fight corruption.
Ezike demanded that Oduah be
sacked and prosecuted.
He said, “If this happened in climes
where laws are obeyed; where the
credibility of processes is respected,
such public officer is sacked and
prosecuted. We believe that what
has happened is enough reason for
the minister, not only to be
removed, but to be prosecuted.
“But these things happen and
nothing is done. That is why we have
been saying that the government of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria is not
interested in fighting corruption.”
Similarly, the Executive Director of
CACOL, Mr. Debo Adeniran, said
Oduah and her accomplices should
be sacked and prosecuted for
corruption and negligence of duty.
He said, “Not only should Oduah be
sacked, she and her accomplices
should be promptly arrested,
investigated, prosecuted and actually
punished for such heinous crime.
What she did is like taking a bribe
from NCAA, which means she will no
longer be able to maintain standard
in aviation sector. And when
standards are not maintained, all
you get is that ordinary Nigerians
are killed in plane crashes.
“The woman (Oduah) should be
prosecuted, not only for corruption,
but also for gross negligence, which
led to the NCAA not taking adequate
precautionary measures on the
flights that have crashed during her
tenure, killing about 300 people.”
Also, the President of CD, Joe Okei-
Odumakin, demanded that the
bulletproof car scandal be
thoroughly investigated by the
Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission.
Okei-Odumakin said in order to stem
impunity in the system, the minister
should be sacked, prosecuted and
punished.
She said, “We have been following
the developments in the aviation
sector, but with this colossal waste
of public funds and the arrogance
with which the explanation was
given, we ask that Oduah should
step aside.
“We want to use this opportunity to
call on the EFCC to thoroughly
investigate the scam and ensure that
all those who are involved in
purchasing the vehicles and the
minister herself are prosecuted.”
In their reaction to the scam,
members of the House of
Representatives, also demanded that
the minister and the Nigerian Civil
Aviation Authority be probed.
Senators, however, opted for a more
cautious approach to the issue; as
most of them declined comments
when contacted.
The representatives, who were
favourably disposed to a probe,
however, differed on the approach
to the investigation.
The Chairman, House Committee on
Financial Crimes, Drugs/Narcotics,
Mr. Adams Jagaba, said President
Goodluck Jonathan “must urgently
ask the minister to step aside” to
allow for free investigation into the
scandal, while the Minority Leader of
the House, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila,
suggested that the investigation
should be done with caution “by
ensuring that Oduah’s constitutional
right to fair hearing is not denied
her.”
Jagaba, who expressed shock over
the development, described it as the
“highest level of corruption in a
government that is fighting
corruption.”
Urging Jonathan to suspend Oduah
immediately, the lawmaker said the
minister should answer certain
questions immediately.
He asked her to tell Nigerians why
she needed “this protection by
spending heavily to buy bulletproof
cars.”
Jagaba also asked the minister to
explain why she needed more
protection than Jonathan or the
presiding officers of the National
Assembly.
He added that Jonathan must prove
to Nigerians that there were no
“super-human ministers” in his
cabinet by directing Oduah to step
aside.
He spoke further, “This is corruption
at its highest level.
“Who is Oduah afraid of that she
needs that level of protection? Is
she saying that she needs more
protection than Mr. President, Vice-
President, Senate President and
Speaker of the House of
Representatives?
“We have the Ministry of Petroleum
Resources that is generating our
revenue. We have the Ministry of
Finance; are the ministers in these
ministries demanding Oduah’s level
of protection?
“That ministry (aviation) is due for
probe. There has to be a thorough
investigation into how she spent all
the billions allocated to the sector
under her.
On his part, Gbajabiamila observed
that much as the “allegation is a
national embarrassment,” he would
want the minister to be accorded her
constitutional right to fair hearing.
“It’s a national embarrassment.
Unfortunately, the EFCC cannot look
into it as demanded by most
Nigerians because now we hear the
EFCC is broke. Cry, my beloved
country.”
Similarly, the House spokesman, Mr.
Zakari Mohammed, said, “The House
is interested in knowing the
relevance of the cars because tax
payers’ money is involved. Is she Mr.
President to drive in N255m
bulletproof cars? Anything that is of
interest to our constituents, we are
also interested.”
In the Senate, the Chairman, Senate
Committee on Information and
Media, Eyinnaya Abaribe, told
SUNDAY PUNCH that it would be too
hasty to offer an opinion on the
scandal because the matter was
before the Upper Legislative
chamber.
Chairman, Senate Committee on
Aviation, Senator Victor Lar, did not
pick calls made to his mobile phone
neither did he respond to a text
message sent to him.
Similarly, Senators Babafemi Ojudu,
Ganiyu Solomon, and Ayo Akinyelure
declined to comment on the issue
when one of our correspondents
contacted them on the telephone.
In spite of public call for probe, the
nation’s anti-graft agencies have
kept sealed lips on possible
investigation into the scam.
The Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission’s spokesperson, Mr.
Wilson Uwujaren, only said, “EFCC
does not give advance notice to
conduct any investigation”.
When also contacted, the
spokesperson for the Independent
Corrupt Practices and Other Related
Offences Commission, Mr. Folu
Olamiti, declined comment.
“No comment for now,” he stated in
a text message to one of our
correspondents.
http://www.punchng.com/news/jonathan-
under-pressure-to-sack-oduah/

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