The scenario playing
out between two top superpower ladies in the country’s Presidency is like a
Nollywood movie scene that if released into the market would surpass the sales
of foreign films like “Titanic”, “Basic Instincts”, “Spartacus”, etc. To an average
Nigerian, even a layman, three women stand out in every ramification with their
style of service to the nation, be it in class, panache, beauty and brain.
These three women are Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Diezani Alison Madueke and Stella
Oduah.
The trio definitely holds sensitive positions that should have been handed over to their male counterparts. However, it could be concluded that due to their dexterity and willingness to serve the nation, they have been able to prove themselves worthy of the posts. It is now left for Nigerians to judge which amongst them proves her mettle.
Moreover,
this gist is not particularly about all three iron ladies, but two who are at
tango at the moment, pointing accusing fingers at each other over one
fraudulent activity or the other. These women are none else than serving
minister of Petroleum Resources, Alison-Madueke and recently sacked minister of
Aviation, Stella Oduah. You will recall that in the December edition, Global News brought to you the real
reason why Diezani Alison-Madueke and Stella Oduah do not see eye-to-eye.
In
the story, it was revealed how Stella Oduah stepped on big toes in the aviation
industry while trying to satisfy her boss, the president Goodluck Jonathan and
to get his total attention. It was also revealed how the iron lady made some
transformations in the industry and how she ensured casualties were rife therein
during her reign as the ministry topnotch. However, despite taking these bold
steps, Stella Oduah won for herself many enemies and antagonists who connived
with her main rival Alison-Madueke to ensure that she became a never-do-well in
the sight of the president and now that she has been ousted as the minister of
Aviation, the coast seems clear for her enemies to penetrate and destroy
totally, her political career.
In
what seems as if they do not want their own ‘madam’ to go down alone, a
reprisal attack is being mounted by the camp of Stella Oduah that Diezani
Alison-Madueke, one of the remaining two super-female ministers and indeed a
powerful one in President Jonathan’s government, is alleged to be wasting
billions of naira from public purse to maintain a private aircraft! Remember,
Madueke was alleged to have played a very pivotal role in the Oduahgate saga
before the former NNPC staffer got booted out of the Presidency. To ensure the
urgency of the submission of the petition to the president, a group, Concerned
Aviation Professionals (CAP) in a letter to President Goodluck Jonathan against
the minister described Madueke as a celebrated but most controversial one in
the history of Nigeria. They opined, alarmingly, that she has committed up to
N3.12 billion in maintaining the jet devoted to family businesses alone!
Although CAP fell short of mentioning names, deep investigations by concerned
journalists and researchers from the Economic Confidential team suggest that
the group could be referring to Mrs. Dieziani Alison-Madueke.
To
prove how real and authentic the story is, CAP requested President Jonathan to
immediately launch a probe into the ownership, maintenance and usage of a
Challenger 850 jet marked OE-ILA which has been domiciled at one of the private
hangers in a Nigerian airport in the last two years. They also urge the
president to remember that more than a year ago, there were similar reports in
the media linking a minister to a private jet impounded by the French
government carrying a business associate of top public officers on suspicions
that the jet-a Bombardier Global Express XRS-belongs to the public officer. The
jet was discovered to have been purchased by the Bank of Utah Trustee in June
2012 through the same process that was also used in purchasing private jets for
Governors Rotimi Amaechi and Godswill Akpabio of Rivers and Akwa Ibom States
respectively.
The
petition signed by Abdul Malik Masaya and John Obande Anihiru, a copy of which
was made available to the Economic Confidential said CAP has “impeachable
records which confirm that the super minister has been frittering away scarce
Nigerian resources in maintaining the Challenger 850 aircraft at one of the
private hangars in the Nigerian Airports in the last two years.
“The
incontrovertible evidence we have is that the minister has been committing
500,000 euros (N130 million) monthly to maintaining the aircraft in the last
two years. Thus, in two years, the minister has committed the sum of N3.120
billion to keeping the jet which is used for personal use and that of the
minister’s family alone,” and thus demanded “a thorough probe of this
allegation should start from the FAAN, NCAA and NAMA. The agencies have records
of all the trips the Challenger 850 jet made on the payroll of one of the
nation’s top revenue earning agencies.”
The
group said it “cannot comprehend the sense in keeping a plane solely for the
use of a minister, especially when the plane is not part of the presidential
fleet. We also know that Mr. President will promptly and readily oblige the
minister the use of any of the presidential jets if it becomes imperative for
the minister to embark on official trips on behalf of the government. Details
at our possession include the series of flights the minister had engaged in
with the said plane in the last two years. The details include the different
locations, time and date of the flights as well as the dates the plane returned
to Nigeria at each instance. In fact we can confirm to you that the plane has
been in use since July 2012.”
According
to Economic Confidential independent findings, however, this latest sleaze
exposure might be a retaliatory action by a recently fallen super Amazon
minister who was caught in the act of corruption perpetrated in some
parastatals of the ministry. Loyalists of the sacked minister claimed it was a
jealous colleague within the administration that leaked the matter to the
press. There have been various speculations that in a bid to eliminate their
rivals, some members of the cabinet engage in activities that will discredit
such individuals by leaking confidential and sensitive documents to the public.
It would be recalled that Princess Stella Oduah was also accused of monumental
corruption and wasteful spending following revelations that she forced
parastatals under her supervision to procure armoured cars for her use to the tune
of N255 million. There were speculations that she was not the only minister who
had acquired armoured official cars in her fleet.
In
the current allegation, the petitioners claimed that they have details of the
series of flights the minister had engaged in with the said plane in the last
two years, and that the waste has continued to gallop even in the wake of
dwindling national budget. In conclusion the petitioners admitted that “last
year, there was outcry over the purchase of two bullet proof cars at N255m by
the former minister of Aviation Stella Oduah. Right now, the minister is no
longer in the cabinet and the aviation sector has been re-organized.
Incidentally, the bulletproof cars are available for public use. What do we
then say of a minister who lavishes billions of public money to maintain a
private jet?”
As
the case is now, the two sides are currently pointing accusing fingers at one
another. With one gone, and the other remaining in the cabinet, perhaps I will
let you know who is more powerful between the two as events unfold.
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