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.
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