The rot in Oduah’s handling of the aviation ministry is exposed
WHEN the beleaguered Princess Stella Oduah was finally reliev ed of her position as Minister of Aviation in February, some Nigerians thought she was a victim of political harassment by opposition parties who were determined to get rid of one of the Jonathan administration’s more effective performers. However, recent revelations by the aviation ministry’s supervising minister, Dr. Samuel Ortom, show that Oduah’s track record was not all it appeared to be.
Ortom recently declared that the ministry was in the process of drastically cutting back on the projects embarked upon during Oduah’s tenure because of the financial quagmire that it had found itself in. To fund the construction of four cargo airports, the ministry had entered into loans requiring the payment of billions of naira in interest payments. Many of the other projects necessitated appropriations which far exceeded the Federal Government’s financial capabilities. Work on many projects has been suspended, and contractors are not getting paid. In all, the ministry has run up debts totalling an estimated N174.6 billion. The ministry has embarked upon an all-inclusive review of the projects in an effort to reduce its financial exposure. Some projects which are yet to commence may be halted, while debt-rescheduling negotiations are being proposed for others.
It is ironic that this is the same Oduah who was touted as the government official whose efforts symbolised the so-called “Transformation Agenda” of the Goodluck Jonathan administration. Her rehabilitation of airport terminals across the nation, the construction of cargo airports and the ambitious policy of creating an aerotropolis or “airport city” were hailed as bold policy initiatives never before attempted in Nigeria.
Many critics were dismissed as ethnic bigots who were enraged that the ministry had been “taken away” from their region. Respected voices within the aviation industry that raised concerns were shouted down as holding brief for corrupt elements who wanted to continue benefitting from the alleged status quo.
Now that the truth has finally emerged, it is incumbent upon the Nigerian government and citizenry to reflect on exactly how the nation arrived at this pass. How was the aviation ministry able to enter into so many financial obligations that are cumulatively well beyond its capacity to service? What was the input of the Federal Ministry of Finance? Did the contracts pass through the Budget Management Office and the Debt Management Office?
At the time these projects were embarked upon, there were criticisms that the rehabilitation of airports should not be Nigeria’s first priority. It was argued that a comprehensive overhaul of all aspects of aviation safety was much more urgent, and evidence for the validity of this argument abounded: pot-holed runways, frequent power outages, the ever-increasing cost of aviation fuel, and the very dubious aircraft-maintenance record of many indigenous airlines.
As Oduah persisted in the execution of her own agenda, the contradictions became plain. Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, for example, was undergoing extensive remodelling at a time when its approach roads and parking lots were virtually unusable and power outages were a common occurrence.
The aviation ministry embarked on the simultaneous construction of multiple cargo airports at a time when many airports in the country were grossly under-utilised, and the associated infrastructure necessary to support them was lacking. Many of the foreign loans taken to finance the projects were obtained under conditions that were never made clear, such as the US $500 million secured from a Chinese company for airport remodelling which is now being reviewed.
The Oduah debacle plainly shows that there can be no substitute for due process, no matter how glamorous the policies may appear to be. A comprehensive audit of all the other ministries must be undertaken in order to see whether they too have chosen to follow the path of financial recklessness. If they have, those deemed to be responsible for it should be held to account for their actions.
