Goodluck Refuse To Grant Stella Oduah Audience In Israel

 

Embattled Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Oduah, has got the snub of her political career in far-away Israel, it was learnt yesterday.

President Goodluck Jonathan reportedly turned down the minister’s request for an appointment.

The minister is on the president’s entourage to that country.

Sources in Jerusalem said that Oduah made several attempts to have a one-on-one discussion with Jonathan to explain her role in the N255m armoured cars procurement scandal by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

The cars were said to have been purchased for her personal use as she was said to be under security threat due to ongoing reforms in the aviation sector.

Since the news broke out, pressures have mounted on the President to relieve her of her job.

Before his pilgrimage to Jerusalem on Wednesday, Jonathan announced the inauguration of a three-man committee to probe the procurement and determine if due process was followed.

A source on the entourage of the President said it would have been out of place for Jonathan to meet with Oduah when the panel he set up is yet to begin sitting or clear her of alleged involvement in the scandal.

The source said: “I can tell you that the minister has not and will never meet with the President here in Jerusalem. This is not to say that she has been found guilty, but it is just fair that the President does not send the wrong signal that may influence the report of the panel.

“We were under strict instruction to prevent the minister from having access to the president for the days we would be spending here. It is, therefore, wrong for anybody to assume that the minister and the President would resolve the issue of the car purchase here. There is nothing like that. I would not describe it as shunning the minister, but it is just something to do.”