By Our Correspondent
THE Niger Delta Indigenous Movement for Radical Change (NDIMRC), has defended the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah over the raging controversial #255M bullet-proof cars, warning the House of Representatives not to contemplate arresting her, just as it condemned the panel set up by President Goodluck Jonathan to investigate the purchase of the cars.
The House of Representatives had threatened to issue a bench warrant for the arrest of the Aviation Minister, Princess Oduah, if, by Tuesday, she fails to appear before its Committee on Aviation to respond to the two controversial armoured BMW cars said to have been bought for her by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
The Group in a statement signed by its President, Nelly Emma; Secretary, John Sailor and Public Relations Officer, Mukoro Stanley said the Aviation Minister did no wrong and held that Nigerians were too much in a hurry in condemning the Minister over the purchase of the bullet-proof cars.
They wondered why Nigerians were calling for the head of the Minister, instead of lauding her, pointing out that the controversial bullet-proof cars were not her personal cars, but for official purposes.
According to the group; “Our Checks revealed that the bullet-proof cars were bought so that they can be used by the Aviation Ministry when the country hosts dignitaries from IATA, ICAO and other international bodies and it was through lease financing.”
“Princess Stella Oduah has changed the face of Airports across the country; she is going out of her way on a daily basis to bring our Airports to International Standard and she should be applauded rather than be crucified. Our investigation has shown that she is blameless, yet the whole world is being made to believe that she is bad; she has been painted in bad light by not a few without even carrying out a proper investigation on why the bullet-proof cars were purchased by the Aviation Ministry;” the group stated.
It added; “The Minister of Aviation is doing a good job for the country. Our Airports needs adequate security hence the 2013 budget made provision for the purchase of the controversial cars. The President was too much in a hurry in setting up a panel to investigate the purchase of the cars.”
The group also wrote; “Our once porous Airports are now secured, courtesy of the tireless efforts of the Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Oduah. Which Aviation Minister in the country has succeeded like Princess Oduah? Today, the Lagos, Enugu, Abuja, Benin Airports just to mention but a few have witnessed massive transformation as never before. Those calling for her arrest and subsequent sack are the real enemies of our country. She has done what other past Ministers in the Aviation Ministry could not do.”
While vowing to stand by the Aviation Minister, the group said; “We know that she is from the Eastern part of the country and related to us in the Niger Delta region. Nobody can arrest or remove her as we are fully satisfied with her performance. We make bold to say that those who are rooting for her sack are the real enemies of our country and Airports; we suspect that they have something to hide and they are not comfortable that the Minister is working round the clock to make our Airports well secured.”
While describing the Aviation Minister and her counterpart in the Petroleum Ministry, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke as exemplary women in the administration of President Jonathan, the group stated; “The Aviation Minister and Nigerian Petroleum Minister have given credibility to the current administration and we should stop frustrating their efforts in their various ministries. Our Airports were nothing to write home about in the past and Nigerians cannot forget in a hurry how they used to sleep at filing stations to buy fuel, but all that have changed in the two Ministries being managed by exemplary women of our time.”
“We have discovered that some faceless individuals are hiding behind all sorts of groups to ask for the removal of the Aviation Minister for selfish reasons and we want to implore the enemies of the Minister to desist from playing politics with every issue,” the group also added.
According to the group; “The Minister to the best of our knowledge has carried out upgrading that no Minister had the courage to do in our nation’s history. We hereby call for an end to all attacks on the Minister; the House of Representatives must not arrest a blameless Minister. What are those things expected from her and she failed to do? There is nothing like Oduahgate scandal; she is not a corrupt Minister and never abused her office as far as we are concerned and we hereby give her a clean bill of health.”
