Stella Oduah Must Be Sacked..House Of Reps

The House of Representatives, on Thursday, approved the recommendations of its Committee on Aviation, which, among other things,  asked President Goodluck Jonathan to review the continued engagement of the Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, over her role in the purchase of two N225 million BMW armoured vehicles by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

The House Committee on Aviation had investigated the controversial purchase of two armoured BMW vehicles by the NCAA and the recommendations of the committee were considered and adopted by the House at the committee of the whole House chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Honourable Emeka Ihedioha.

The House also approved the recommendation which directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate and prosecute all persons and institutions involved in the car transaction.

The NCAA was also directed to terminate, with immediate effect, all transactions and loan agreement with FirstBank of Nigeria Plc, which was allegedly used to purchase the vehicles.

The lawmakers also approved that the  former NCAA acting Director-General, Mr Nkemakolam Joyce and the Director of Finance, Mr S. Ozigi, should be sanctioned in accordance with the Civil Service rules for breaching the Appropriation Act, 2013.

The House also approved the recommendation that called for investigation of Coscharis Motors Nigeria Limited on the issue of waiver, source and exact cost of the two BMW cars supplied to the NCAA, as well as directed the Ministry of Finance to recover all money spent on the entire transactions and pay same into the federation account.

However, the minister, in a swift reaction, faulted the position of the House on the matter, saying that the lawmakers were only pursuing different agenda.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Aviation has expressed shock and disappointment that despite the deluge of representations and evidence provided by the Minister of Aviation and all invited stakeholders on the purchase of the bulletproof cars, “the House would reach conclusions that have only confirmed that there was a hidden agenda in the entire exercise from the beginning.”

A statement signed by Joe Obi, special assistant to the minister, said, “it recalls vividly that 24 long hours before the report of the investigation was due to be laid before the plenary, certified true copies were handed over to online and traditional media.

“The motive of those who handed the document to unauthorised persons has fully manifested in the adoption of the recommendations that have no reflection to the public hearing conducted in the full glare of Nigerians and the media.”

According to the statement, “we stand by our earlier submissions to the committee that due process was followed in the procurement of the vehicles by the NCAA.

“The minister told the public hearing and her evidence was corroborated by the NCAA that the cars were neither purchased for her nor in her name.

“Evidence also shows that the cars in question were included as a line item under the safety and security vehicles sub-head in the Appropriation Act.

“The position of the committee that this was not included in the budget is spurious, as clear evidence exists in the Appropriation Act as stated above.”

The statement alleged that the “actions of the committee and the House were pre-meditated, with the sole aim of casting aspersions on the person and office of the minister.”