The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Stella Oduah

  • Lamido welcomes Oduah to Jigawa

    Lamido welcomes Oduah to Jigawa

    There are pointers that President Goodluck Jonathan and Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido may have reconciled, as the governor welcomed Aviation Minister Stella Oduah to the state a few hours after Jonathan and Lamido met in Abuja.

    It was gathered that the governor and the minister left Abuja to Jigawa on different flights, which landed at the Kano Airport.

    They travelled by road to Dutse where they inspected the Dutse international Airport.

    Speaking to reporters after the inspection, Ms Oduah described the airport as one of the best in the country.

    She said the airport would begin full operations in the first quarter of next year.

    The project will cost the state government about N11 billon.

    Ms Oduah said the Federal Government would build a perishable cargo terminal to enhance agricultural produce and commercial viability in the area.

    She said the airport had the potential to become the perishable cargo hub in the region, adding that this would enhance the income of farmers.

    The minister described the three-kilometre runway as “fantastic”, promising that a cold room to store perishables would be built at the airport.

    Lamido said the minister was in the state to fulfill part of the President’s campaign promises to the people.

     

  • PHOTO: Aviation minister attacked by gun men

    PHOTO: Aviation minister attacked by gun men

  • Oduahgate, a hesitant president and Gov Amaechi

    Oduahgate, a hesitant president and Gov Amaechi

    Nearly one month after President Goodluck Jonathan set up a panel to probe the scandal surrounding the two overpriced bulletproof cars allegedly bought for the Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), and more than one week after the panel reportedly submitted its report, the president has not said a word. No matter what his aides say about his fidelity to both the truth and the anti-corruption war, Dr Jonathan is clearly reluctant to act on the matter, for Ms Oduah is said to be a favoured minister, one quite important to the president’s election in 2011 and his re-election plans in 2015. But act he must, notwithstanding speculations that he seeks a way out for the embattled minister. This column has no inkling what the panel’s findings are, but whatever happens, and given what we already know, the president will be demonstrating unparalleled audacity not to give Ms Oduah more than a slap on the wrist.

    As far as Dr Jonathan is concerned, and in spite of his often buoyant sermonising in speeches and in churches, his presidency has formed a pattern of never meaning what he says, and of damning the whole world when his critics become too impassioned against his puny virtues. To be fair to him, he has not been inspiring in waging war on corruption, but he at least gestures in that direction and frequently pretends to be earnest in facing the problem squarely.

    As if to reinforce the perception of the moral aimlessness of the Jonathan presidency, his Special Adviser on Political Matters, Ahmed Gulak, last week explained why Dr Jonathan turned down the invitation by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) to deliver a keynote address at its Sokoto retreat. According to Alhaji Gulak, the president turned down the invitation because he did not recognise the NGF led by Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State. The president, he said unashamedly, recognised a faction of the NGF created and led by Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State.

    In May, the NGF had conducted its leadership election in which Mr Amaechi emerged winner with 19 votes to Mr Jang’s 16. Many observers saw a direct and uncomplicated election; but the president chose to recognise the loser who was his candidate. Other than the 16 governors who recognise Mr Jang as NGF chairman, no other sensible person does. But what does the Jonathan presidency care? He sees no paradox in lending presidential weight to open indiscretion. If he finally and reluctantly chooses to punish Ms Oduah for her errors and lies, it will not be because he thinks it is the right thing to do; it will be because he has no choice. As for the NGF, don’t ever expect him to recognise the truth, no matter what loathsome impression it creates of his presidency. He abhors the upstart Mr Amaechi too much to give a damn. After all, in these parts, the impression presidential aides have of presidential power is that no president must ever lose an argument to anyone, let alone lose a deathly political struggle with a lowly governor. In their view, democracy endows a president with far more power and glory than a monarchy or outright dictatorship.

  • Air crashes: Senate makes U-turn on Oduah

    Air crashes: Senate makes U-turn on Oduah

     …Minister now to appear before committee

    The Senate on Thursday rescinded its resolution that the Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah, should appear and brief the Senate at plenary about recurring air crashes in the country.

    The rescission followed a motion by Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, entitled: “Rescission of Senate resolution on the invitation of the Minister of Aviation to brief the Senate.”

    The motion was seconded by Deputy Minority Whip, Senator Ganiyu Solomon.

    Before he read the wordings of the motion, Ndoma-Egba invoked Order 53 rule 6 of Senate standing Orders (as amended)

    Order 53 rule 6 states “It shall be out of Order to attempt to reconsider any specific question upon which the Senate has come to a conclusion during the current session except upon a substantive motion for rescission.”

    Armed with the Order, Ndoma-Egba recalled that on Tuesday, 8th October, 2013, the Senate among others resolved to invite the Minister of Aviation and Chief Executives of the Aviation parastatals to brief the Senate on the state of the aviation sector and the high number of aviation incidents in the country.

    He added that the Senate at its Executive Session resolved that the briefing (by the Minister) should be now held before the Senate Committee on Aviation.

    He prayed the Senate to resolve to rescind its earlier resolution that the Minister of Aviation and Chief Executives of the Aviation parastatals brief the Senate at plenary.

    He further urged the Senate to resolve that the Minister of Aviation and Chief Executives of Aviation parastatals do brief the Senate Committee on Aviation on the state of aviation sector and high number of aviation incidents in the country.

    The two prayers were unanimously adopted, but before their adoption, Senate President, David Mark, asked “any comment from anybody?”

     

  • N255million car scandal: Oduah’s 12 sins by Reps panel

    N255million car scandal: Oduah’s 12 sins by Reps panel

    A fresh insight into the report of the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation on the probe of the controversial two armoured cars shows that 12 infractions are standing against the name of embattled Aviation Minister Stella Oduah.

    The vehicles were bought at a total cost of N255 million by the National Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) allegedly for the minister in violation of due process.

    Both the minister and the agency have denied any breach of the rules and said the vehicles were for operational use only.

    However, the committee in its 20-page report, which was laid before the plenary of the House of Representatives on Thursday, said it traced massive violations of the rules by the minister in the transaction for 54 cars, including the BMW armoured cars, by the NCAA.

    The committee said it discovered that on April 25, 2013, the minister approved NCAA’s request to procure 55 operational vehicles valued at N564, 665,000.00.

    The agency then went ahead to secure a loan of N643, 088,250 for 54 vehicles.

    But it could not explain what it wanted to do or did with the balance of N78, 423,250.

    The panel also said it could not trace one of the disputed BMW cars based on the chassis numbers on the receipt issued by Coscharis Motors Limited.

    The House has not fixed a date for the consideration of the report.

    The report reads in part: “The 2013 Appropriation Act provides for the purchase of 25 vehicles at the of N240,000,000 namely (i) Toyota Pickup Hilux(5); (ii) Toyota Corolla(10); (iii) Toyota Land Cruiser(5); (iv) Toyota Hiace(3); and (v) Security Inspection Vehicles for Safety/Security(2).

    “That there was no appropriation for the purchase of two (2) bulletproof (armoured cars) in 2013 Appropriation Act.

    “NCAA proposal for the purchase of the two BMW armoured cars worth N140million was earlier rejected by the Committee. What was provided for in the budget were two security vehicles for inspection of perimeter fence.

    “That Hon. Minister of Aviation claimed that the purchase of two (2) bulletproof BMW armoured cars were provided for in the 2013 Budget of the NCAA. This submission by the Hon. Minister is incorrect.

    “The 2013 Appropriation provides for two operational/security vehicles for the inspection of perimeter fences and not two (2) BMW bulletproof cars as purported by the Minister and NCAA.

    “On April 15, 2013, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) applied to the Hon. Minister of Aviation via a memo NCAA/DG/04/1/13 for approval to acquire a total of 51 operational vehicles at a total cost of N564, 665,000.00.

    “NCAA’s application was approved by the Hon. Minister via a memo FMA/NCAA/ T44555/5.6/T2/136 dated April 25, 2013. This approval contradicts the following:

    •       The 25 operational vehicles approved in NCAA 2013 Budget

    •       The approval value is above the limit of Ministerial Tenders Board. Whereas the approved revised thresholds for service wide application pursuant to Section 16(2) Public Procurement Act 2009(as amended) a minister’s limit is N100million, in approving N564, 665,000 as evidence Ref. No. /FMA/T44555/S.6/T2/136. She was in breach of the law.

    •       No evidence of Due Process was shown by NCAA/Ministry of Aviation

    “The Hon. Minister of Aviation also claimed that the lease financing arrangement would ensure that NCAA pays N100million by the end of 2013 fiscal year while the balance of N16million will be paid in the following years.

    “This amount according to the Minister fell below what is required for the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approval.”

    The panel said that while documents from NCAA indicated that on April 25, 2013 the minister approved the agency’s  request to procure 55 operational vehicles valued at N564, 665,000.00, “there  is no evidence to show that the Hon. Minister presented NCAA’s request to FEC for its approval.

    “Furthermore, the attempt to procure now and pay later is against the Extant Laws of the Federation.”

    On the armoured car which it claimed it could not trace during investigation, the panel said: “The stored receipt of NCAA in respect of the two (2) BMW vehicles bears chassis No. DW68044 and DW68032.

    “Upon physical inspection of the vehicles in the custody of NCAA by the Aviation Committee, two BMW vehicles were cited and inspected DW68011 and DW68044.

    “The BMW vehicle with chassis number DW68032 was not seen. Messrs Coscharis explanation on this issue is not supported by

    available documents.”

    The panel made seven recommendations to the House of Representatives as follows:

    •       Given the fact that the two BMW armoured vehicles procured in the process were not provided for in the 2013 Appropriation Law nor was due process followed in their procurement, the Ministry of Aviation and NCAA should terminate with immediate effect all transactions and loan agreement it entered into with First Bank Nigeria Plc and all contracts awarded thereto;

    •       That all monies so far spent on the entire transaction should be recovered and returned back to the Federation Account;

    •       The President, Federal Republic of Nigeria should review the continued engagement of the  Hon. Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella  Oduah, having contravened the Appropriation Act and Approved Revised Thresholds by exceeding her approval limit of N100m with the purchase of 54 vehicles value at N643m

    •       That EFCC and other relevant  anti-corruption agencies should: (a) Further investigate the discrepancies in the chassis Number DW68032 of the vehicles on the one reported to be delivered and the one inspected by the committee; and (b) Further investigate and if found wanting, prosecute all persons/ institutions involved in the transaction

    •       The former Acting DG, Mr. Nkemakola Joyce, and Director of Finance, Mr. S. Ozigi, should be sanctioned in accordance with the Civil Service Rules for deliberately breaching the 2013 Appropriation Act/ Extant Laws of the Federation

    •       That Coscharis Motors Nigeria Limited should be investigated on the issue of waiver, source and exact cost of the two BMW vehicles supplied to NCAA;

    •       Coscharis should be made to pay the value of the waiver into treasury account.

  • Is covering up Aviation minister’s sins the way to go?

    Is covering up Aviation minister’s sins the way to go?

    An article titled ‘’Nigeria, Where Plane Crashes because of Bullet Proof Cars’’, which was written by one Kayode Daramola and which was published in your newspaper on 27th Oct 2013, has been brought to our attention. It contains nothing but malicious falsehood and it is clear that the author seeks to impugn the character and reputation of Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, the former Minister of Culture and Tourism, former Presidential spokesman to President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Minister of Aviation. In an attempt to launder the image of the embattled and disgraced Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, Daramola felt it necessary to tell a series of lies and construct a string of malicious fabrications against Chief Fani-Kayode. This was simply because Chief Fani-Kayode was amongst those that were the first to call for the sacking or the resignation of Oduah as Minister of Aviation after the Associated Airline crash in which 16 people lost their lives. Daramola wrote, inter alia, that ‘’Stella’s accomplishments are not unknown to people, what is unclear to the entire citizenry of this country is that the writing on the wall are political machinations scribbled to dent the glittering image of the working amazon supervising the aviation sector as well as set her on the same pedestal with non-performing ministers of yesteryears indicted for the mismanagement of 19.5 billion Naira Aviation Intervention Fund. Even the most vociferous voice in the name-calling of Stella Oduah, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, was banned for five years from holding public office and charged to court by the EFCC for misappropriation. Has the five-year ban not expired and Chief Fani-Kayode ready to return to the Minstry of Aviation to take what he forgot?’’

    One really does wonder whether people like this ever went to school or whether they are capable of being reasonable and logical. A former minister voices his concerns about the loss of lives and lack of safety in the Aviation sector, and in the petty and sick minds of people like Daramola it is because he wishes to go back to the Ministry of Aviation! How does Daramola know that he and his whole family will not be in the next plane crash? Has it occurred to him that people like Fani-Kayode are simply trying to save and protect lives, including his? The sort of disingenuous drivel and utter rubbish that Daramola has written is rarely seen or read. Under normal circumstances one would have ignored this worthless and desperate hired hand and agent of the devil who is simply out to do a hatchet job, but it is important to set the records straight. And the facts are as follows. First of all, more people have died under the watch of Daramola’s vampire ‘’amazon’’, Stella Oduah, than any other Minister of Aviation in the history of Nigeria except for one. Under her watch there have been no less than six crashes (both military and civilian) and just under 200 lives have been lost. All that in just two years! Three months after Stella Oduah took control at the helm of affairs in the Ministry of Aviation planes and helicopters started falling out of the sky and they have not stopped since. That, to Chief Fani-Kayode and millions of other Nigerians, is, quite rightly, a matter of grave concern. Clearly, Daramola attaches no value to human life, otherwise he would have been concerned as well. It is a matter of public record that by the time Chief Fani-Kayode took over as minister at the Ministry of Aviation in 2006 there had been five crashes with 453 deaths in just one year before his resumption of duties and he not only put a stop to that terrible cycle of crashes but he also put the necessary reforms in place to prevent them from recurring before he left. In his entire seven months at the Ministry of Aviation not one person lost their life from a plane crash in Nigeria. As a matter of fact he is the only Minister of Aviation in Nigeria in the last 11 years that did not lose one person under his watch. Three months after he left office, the reforms he put in place were discarded and the crashes started again and they have not stopped since.

    If Nigeria was not a place that people placed no value on human life, Chief Fani-Kayode ought to have received all manner of accolades, awards and honours by now for such a phenomenal achievement, yet instead he receives nothing but insults and sponsored lies by the paid agents of Stella Oduah whose position is getting less tenuous by the day. This is a minister who claimed that plane crashes were ‘’inevitable’’ and they were ‘’acts of God’’ and who had the temerity to spend 1.6 million USD on two bullet proof cars for herself with taxpayers’ money. The saying is that when it comes to journalism ‘’opinion is cheap and facts are sacred’’. The author may have his reservations about Chief Fani-Kayode and he is entitled to his opinion. I doubt that Chief Fani-Kayode or anyone else will lose any sleep over what he thinks. However, he is not entitled to fabricate facts or distort the truth.

    Let us take his fabrications one by one. It is not true that Chief Fani-Kayode was ‘’indicted’’ by anyone, including the Senate Aviation Commitee in 2008 or at any other time, for the misappropriation or mismanagement of the 19.5 billion Aviation Intervention Fund. He was cleared of any wrongdoing in the management of that fund by the Senate Aviation Commitee during a public hearing in 2008 even though they were baying for his blood, whilst others were indicted. It is true that in 2008 he was initially charged to court by the EFCC together with others on the alleged mismanagement of the fund but three months later all charges against him on the 19.5 billion Naira Aviation Intervention Fund were dropped by the EFCC for want of evidence whilst others were charged and are being prosecuted for that matter till today. The issues that Chief Fani-Kayode has with the EFCC today and which has dragged on for the last five years have nothing to do with the Ministry of Aviation or the Aviation Intervention Fund. These are matters that have no substance or seriousness and that are clearly politically-motivated. The whole charade was malicious and ill-motivated and it was designed and constructed simply to punish and silence him by the Yar’adua administration for his loyalty and commitment to President Olusegun Obasanjo. The current government has allowed it to drag on due to Chief Fani-Kayode’s relentless opposition to them. It is only Daramola that does not appear to be aware of this in the whole country.

    Again, it is not true that Chief Fani-Kayode was ever ‘’banned from holding political office for five years’’ by anyone. The recommendation that he should be banned from political office for five years ‘’for putting too many Yoruba people in the Aviation parastatals when he was minister ‘’was made by the Senator Anyim Ude-led Senate Aviation Commitee in 2008 whilst they were on their witch-hunt but unfortunately for them the Senate at plenary not only rejected their recommendation and described it as ‘’absurd’’, but they also said that they did not have the power to ban anyone from public office. The fact that a rival for the governorship bid in Osun State, Chief Iyiola Omisore, was also a member of that Aviation Committee and that he tried his best to get the Senate to ban Fani-Kayode from running for public office simply to keep him out of the governorship race tells the whole story. Yet whatever the motivations for this ridiculous suggestion were, it was laughed out of the Senate and the Aviation Commitee was put to shame.

    People like Daramola that attach their names to this shameful and libellous piece ought to know that no matter how many times they tell lies, at the end of the day they will be exposed for what they are. More importantly, those that take money from heartless, greedy and thieving vampire ministers to tell such lies and cast aspersions on the character and reputation of innocent and good men always end up very badly because God’s judgement always falls on them. Daramola would do better to explain to the world why Stella Oduah would rather spend 1.6 million USD on two cars for herself with taxpayers’ money rather than put runway lights on the nation’s runways. He would also do well to explain what pleasure she derives in watching people die in crashes and hearing about the attendant blood flow. When the next plane crash takes place Daramola and those that sent him to write such rubbish will be counted amongst those that have blood on their hands assuming that they are not on the crashed plane themselves. May God forgive them for their bloodlust, their insensitivity and their dirty lies.

     

    Salako is a Lagos-based lawyer

     

  • That pro-Oduah rally

    That pro-Oduah rally

    We should be worried that our youths are fighting for negative values

    Little did I realise, last week, that I would return to the Stella Oduah issue this soon. But there have been some disturbing developments since I wrote my column on it last Sunday. One of them was the pro-Oduah protest by some Igbo youths in Enugu penultimate Saturday. No doubt, protests are an integral part of governance. Even in autocratic societies where the ruler holds somewhat unquestionable powers, people have always protested, oftentimes at great risks to their lives. Thousands of South Africans were killed in all kinds of protests staged in the days of apartheid, to end white minority rule in South Africa. If people in undemocratic settings can express displeasure with government, it should be a given that those in democratic settings have much greater latitude to disagree with governments through protests. Protests should therefore be seen as an integral part of democracy if indeed democracy is the ‘government of the people for the people by the people’.

    The point being made is that governments are run by people, in which case the public officials can make mistakes in policy formulation or programme implementation. People have the right to express their displeasure about such mistakes, whether they (mistakes) are of the head or the heart. As a matter of fact, students in this country have had to demonstrate for very noble causes in the past. All said, there are some protests that are senseless because of their dysfunctional nature and should therefore be condemned by any right-thinking member of the society. The protest by some (apparently) misguided Igbo Youths in Enugu, under the aegis of Igbo Progressives Union, against calls for the sacking of the aviation minister, Stella Oduah, falls under this category. Hear their leader, Emeka Agbo, a student of the Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu: “Before she came to office, we were hearing about international airport, but today, it has become a reality in Igboland. We are ready to swim and sink with her.” I have no quarrel with this because it is a matter of choice; people have a right to swim or sink with whoever they like. But my concern is that this was a major plank why the minister should be spared. And to think that it is coming from students in a higher institution?

    Yet, the issues in the Oduah case are simple and would even appear clear enough. She was alleged to have approved the purchase of two BMW armoured cars at a cost of N255million, whereas the market value of the vehicles should not be more than N75million. Worse still, the expenditure, according to reports, was not provided for in the budget, which is a serious offence. As at the time of the protest, the minister was yet to respond to the invitation of the House Committee on Aviation to shed more light on the issue. What was then in the public domain was the fact that the vehicles were bought to protect the minister whose life has been in danger from people who are not happy with the good works she has been doing and the changes she has brought to bear on the aviation sector, that have affected these people who would have preferred business as usual. Ms Oduah told a different story when she finally appeared before the House committee on Thursday. The impression she gave was that her aides who spoke earlier did not know what they were saying. Anyway, I do not want to jump to conclusion before the committee is through with its assignment, so I would rather stop here on her appearance before it. But, how does this matter become something which some youths would take upon themselves to defend simply because she is one of their own? Were the protesters instrumental in any way to her appointment as minister?

    Although in the Oduah case, the protesters were her Igbo kindred, it should not be taken to mean that the behaviour is only found among the Igbo or in the eastern part of the country. It is a behaviour sans borders, so to say. What, therefore, could be responsible for this? Illiteracy is a sure banker; poverty is another while a third could be ignorance. Perhaps the fourth reason, which is as deadly as the other three is the loss of values in the country. The situation has been deteriorating at an alarming rate. Otherwise, why would some secondary school students rise in defence of a monarch who was on trial for alleged rape? Yet, that was what happened last year, when about 35 pupils of Ifelodun Grammar School, Kiloru, Osun State, protested against the trial of the Alowa of Ilowa, Oba Adebukola Alli, for alleged rape. It was heartwarming that the state government which had keen interest in the matter promptly suspended the students and indeed asked them to produce their parents in school, in addition to the students signing an undertaking that they would not do such a thing again.

    The irony of it all is that in many instances, most of the protesters hardly understand the reason for the protests they are participating in. I remember in the Abacha years, some protesters who were part of the Nigerians earnestly asking Abacha to transmute to civilian president carried their placards upside down, an indication that they did not even understand the content. When reporters noticed this and asked them why they were part of the march, many of them had no answer. Some even said they were given some ridiculous amount to be part of the train. The same thing is being insinuated in the pro-Oduah protest by the so-called Igbo youths. Some reports said they were offered N4,000 each.

    In the Osun instance, those involved were children who should not have been involved in such protest. As at the time they protested, their Oba was still on rape charge. Yet, they stormed the court premises to protest the trial. Now, judgment has been given, and the court, even despite its convoluted judgment, did not say Oba Alli did not have sex with the youth corps member that he was alleged to have raped; it merely agreed with the Oba that the two of them were lovers. Now, in retrospect, can those students vouch that their Oba was right to have slept with the youth corps member, even if it was a case of two consenting adults? Does that not desecrate the throne? And, is that the kind of thing that well-brought-up pupils or students should be defending? Has it ever dawned on them that they too are not safe in the hands of an Oba that would not bait an eyelid to have an affair with a youth corps member?

    It is this type of protests that has made many Nigerians to conclude that there can never be a revolution in the country. They have carefully studied the tendency of the elite to appeal to parochial sentiments when they are in trouble. That is when they (the elite) remember that they are being persecuted because of the tribe they come from, or the religion they belong to, or whatever. I do not know how far this can be sustained; the fact that it has worked this far does not mean it will always work because, when the chips are down, poverty does not know tribe or religion; it is about the stomach. Most times when a baby cries, it wants food in its mouth. What we are familiar with is the saying that ‘a hungry man is an angry man’. Hunger does not know tribe or religion, when it comes, it wants to be assuaged, and it will get to a stage where hunger cannot be assuaged the way some people are plundering our common patrimony.

    These protests are depressing because they are carried out by youths who are the leaders of tomorrow. Apparently, we are not inculcating in them the right values that would empower them for that future that they are supposed to play leadership roles in. This is as bad, if not worse, than sitting on a keg of gunpowder.

  • ‘FAAN bought 202 vehicles’

    The Senate Committee on Aviation on Wednesday said the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) confirmed that it purchased 202 vehicles.

    It said that FAAN also confirmed that two Lexus Limousine cars and two Toyota Prado jeeps are part of the vehicles.

    The committee said that FAAN claimed that two of the vehicles were bought for the Aviation Minister, Ms. Stella Oduah while another two were purchased for the FAAN Managing Director.

    It said that some of the vehicles were bought for the use of directors of FAAN.

    FAAN MD, Mr. George Uriesi, had told the committee that the limousines were bought for N60m each.

    The MD said that he does not have information on the cost of the Prado jeeps.

    He also told the committee the cars were in the custody of an unnamed bank which funded the purchase of the four vehicles.

    The MD claimed that the Aviation Minister approved the purchase, while somebody whose name he did not disclose signed on his (Uriesi) behalf.

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Hope Uzondinma, spoke on the car purchase at the continued Public Hearing on the crisis in the aviation sector.

    Uzodinma said, “Investigation is still ongoing and it will not be fair for me to preempt it. FAAN did confirm that among the operational vehicles they purchased, four of them are armoured vehicles, two for the MD and two for the minister.

    “We told them (FAAN) to go back and put everything in writing and make a comprehensive statements on all vehicles purchased.

    “FAAN said that they bought a total number of 202 vehicles for different operations. So until they come back on Monday we cannot rush into conclusion. The MD FAAN said that they did a funding arrangement with a commercial bank.”

    He that said his committee will do a thorough investigation of extra-budgetary spending by the parastatals in the Aviation Ministry.

     

     

  • A harvest of corruption

    A harvest of corruption

    •Rather than abate, corruption festers under the Jonathan administration

    The controversy kicked off by the purchase of two armoured BMW cars for the Minister of Aviation, Ms Stella Oduah, has brought to focus again the debate on President Goodluck Jonathan’s attitude to the battle against sleaze in the country. No sooner was he elected President than Dr. Jonathan announced to the world that he would tackle the monster with vigour.

    However, since he assumed power, fraud and dishonesty appear to have received fresh impetus. The first indication that the pledge to combat fraud could be cosmetic came to the fore as soon as the administration was inaugurated. Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua who was Jonathan’s predecessor was quick, without prodding, to make public the declaration of his assets. The constitution merely requires of him to fill the necessary forms with the Code of Conduct Bureau. However, Yar’Adua chose to challenge whoever had contrary knowledge of his assets to come out with it. It was an indication that he intended to live above board and a signal that whoever would not be open and transparent about his or her transaction should not bother to take up appointment under him. It was refreshingly different.

    But, Dr. Jonathan who was his deputy needed to be needled to accept the challenge of following in Yar’Adua’s footsteps. It was an early indication of what to expect if he became the Chief Executive of the Federation. When he mounted the saddle as an elected President on May 29, 2011, he threw away the Yar’Adua example and rather chose to hide behind the fact that public declaration of assets is not made mandatory by the constitution. He would not be part of creating tradition and convention on declaration of assets.

    We note that, recently, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) cried out that it was broke and may not be in position to prosecute the plethora of fraud cases in court, especially those involving high profile politicians. This could be a further indication that the President is only paying lip service to the war against corruption.

    Last year, the landscape was seized by the desire of Nigerians to rid the country of thieves of public fund funnelled through payment of oil subsidy. Activists, patriots and nationalists trooped out to call for non-removal of the so-called fuel subsidy until satisfactory account was given of all that had been paid and a proper audit of the accounts had been carried out. Till date, nothing has changed in the mode of receipting, accounting for and expending oil money. Recommendations of the Nuhu Ribadu and the Kalu Idika Kalu panels have been kept in the shelves.

    The government demonstrated utter insensitivity by keeping the minister superintending the ministry in place. Rather than lose face as a result of the activities unearthed in the various National Assembly probes, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke remains a superpower in the petroleum resources ministry. Not even the weighty allegation that about N2 billion had been frittered away on private jet shuttles in a land where stark, absolute poverty reigns would move the President to sack the minister. Rather, ministers mainly known to be loyal to those regarded as “rebel governors” in the ruling party were shoved out.

    The pension fund scandal has led nowhere. In the federal legislature, Farouk Lawan remains a member of the House of Representatives. While it may be argued that the matter is before the courts, a charismatic leader would have made sure that such an issue is not allowed to linger for too long. Under the Jonathan administration, it is not considered offensive to national psyche that a legislator against whom such a serious allegation has been made remains in office and contributes to national debates.

    As a result of these scandals, frauds and other corrupt practices, others are emboldened to toe the same line. The reigning philosophy is that all that is needed to hold high offices of the land is to be in the good books of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. During the tenancy of Dr. Jonathan in the portals of power, ex-militants not known to have requisite qualifications and experience have been handed the security of the coastal waters and the ports.

    We are not surprised that national assets and institutions continue to decay. Examples include the all-important Lagos-Ibadan and Lagos-Ore-Benin roads. The roads are very important to the social and economic life of the country and its citizens as they connect the commercial and most populous city to all parts of the country – North, East and West. Industrial goods are thus expensive and precious lives needlessly lost.

    The government, as it approaches the third year mark, should sit up and re-examine the mandate it was handed in 2011. More than most Nigerians, President Jonathan has been strikingly lucky with public offices. He is touted as the first doctorate degree holder to hold the office of the President and the only one so far to have held office as deputy governor, governor, vice president and acting president before assuming office.

    He has a duty to prove all critics wrong by working for the interest of the people and ensuring that justice is upheld in all cases. This is the only way to raise public standards and seal the leaking points in the public treasury.

  • Stellagate and ethnic warriors

    Stellagate and ethnic warriors

    SIR: The raging kerfuffle precipitated by the purchase of two BMW armoured cars by Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah at N255 million has revealed the canyon of divergences of Nigerians as regards their thinking, biases, dispositions, views and opinions on tenuous issues of national reckoning . To a large extent, the discordant tunes have exposed the inability of the so-called oppressed class to unite in a noble cause of condemning and bringing pressure on the government for condign actions to be taken against the minister. The disunity among the common people has its provenance in tribalism. Nigerians are torn by tribal sentiments and considerations.

    The unfortunate dimension is an unsavoury commentary on the national conscience against corruption. If all Nigerians cannot forge a common front against evil as vile as corruption, then the vaunted fight against it is a mere fluke. Nigeria will remain in the thrall of corruption as long as ethnic bias takes precedence over corruption pronged issues that are as putrid as vivified national corruption itself.

    Again, the case has shown that when it comes to corruption, there is selectivity of ethnicity. In that, Nigerians are wont to condemn corrupt people when such people are not of their extraction, and they defend them if they are of their extraction. Ethnic attachments always suffuse the thinking in corruption categorisations in Nigeria; a situation that has effectuated Stella Oduah to be seen as a victim of tribal antagonism and prejudice by some Igbo persons.

    As a matter of fact, Stella Oduah’s vulgar purchases smack of corruption, insensitivity, profligacy and extravagance. Her actions should be seen as such. Nigeria’s ethnic warriors should sheathe their drawn swords and confront the issue for what it is- gross insensitivity, corruption and profligacy of a government official. The outpouring of accumulated vitriol from crimson bile will not bring a lasting solution to the problem of corruption, careless and senseless spending. It will only divide us more for the vicious rape of the government as a divided people are a conquered people. The barter of ethnic vitriol should cease for a dawning of untainted reason to break down Stellagate.

     

    • Fredrick Nwabufo.

    Abuja