Stella Oduah
• Accuses APC of hypocritical stance on graft
• Aviation stakeholders bicker over car purchase scandal
Chuks Okocha and Dele Ogbodo
As the curtain gradually falls on the Minister of Aviation Stella Oduah over her alleged role in the purchase of the N225 million armoured BMW cars, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Tuesday threw its weight behind President Goodluck Jonathan and the National Assembly for investigating the scandal.
The ruling party also said at no time had it supported or condoned any form of corruption.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, the PDP said the accusation against the minister was of major concern to it, while commending the president and National Assembly for stepping forward to investigate Oduah.
It explained that the two committees set up to probe the car purchases were indicative of the party's practical example of zero tolerance for corrupt practices.
PDP, in the statement said: "It is common knowledge that at one time or the other, some members of the top leadership of our party or their relatives faced charges of corruption and never was the law restrained from taking its full course.
"To us as a party, the accusation of corruption in the Aviation Ministry is a big worry. It is for this reason that the president and leader of our party set up a panel to investigate the matter, while the National Assembly which we also lead have stepped in.
"We commend the president and National Assembly for doing what is appropriate in the circumstance.
"The position of our great party on corruption is unambiguous and our zero tolerance for corrupt practices abounds in practical examples because our founding fathers placed utmost premium on a transparent and accountable government as a fulcrum for achieving a Nigeria of our dreams. Our successive leaders since 1999 have resolutely stuck to this.
"It is a fundamental rule of due process and fairness that these investigations be allowed a full course so that those at the centre of the saga would be availed the opportunity to offer their own side and avoid conviction before trial.
"We however wish to assure Nigerians that whoever is found culpable shall reap in full, the bitter consequences of corruption and disservice to our dear nation."
PDP added that except it is otherwise established, aviation officials should not be intimidated but remain focused in the outstanding transformation that Nigerians have witnessed in the sector.
The party also frowned at the ethnic dimension, comments and street actions that the issue has taken, cautioning those it described as tribal lords and lynch mobs on the two divides that such biased sentiments would hardly achieve an objective basis for establishing the culpability of the public officers involved in the matter.
PDP said: "These public trials in which the accused stands no chance of defence is antithetical to democracy as it is capable of railroading appropriate investigation into an unjust conclusion."
PDP used the opportunity to lampoon the All Progressives Congress (APC) for its hypocritical stand on corruption, saying the party was not different from a white washed tomb.
Accordingly, the statement from the PDP said: "The APC is a stinking sepulcher. The party is the headquarters of corruption in Nigeria. This is a party whose leaders relish in stinking miasma but artfully turn a blind eyes to it. They however go mega phonic when other political parties are involved."
Metuh further said the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly was still standing trial for acts of corruption, yet it was not discussed.
According to PDP in Ekiti, Ogun, Oyo, Edo and Osun States, bridges and road contacts were outrageously inflated and the masses pauperised daily with the APC conniving in silence, further alleging: "The case of the brazen privatisation of Lagos under Bola Tinubu, which has continued till now is trite knowledge, yet the APC sees no corruption in it at all".
Meanwhile, the much-talked meeting of the stakeholders in the aviation industry almost ran into a hitch yesterday, over disagreements over the alleged high handiness of the Aviation Ministry officials to industry players on one the hand, and the purchase of two bulletproof cars on the other.
The session which started in Abuja, at 10 a.m. lasted for more than eight hours as members, the elders' forum and the three different unions comprising: the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) and Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), were almost at daggers drawn over priority matters that bordered on how to move the sector forward.
The hardliners, THISDAY learnt, were of the opinion that everything concerning aviation under the earth should be discussed, while those with a soft spot for government officials opposed it.
The members, who sensed the explosive nature of the meeting, quickly ordered that journalists covering the event be barred from the closed door meeting.
Efforts to speak to Messrs, Ben Okewu and Isaac Balami, who are leaders of NAAPE and ATSSSAN on the phone to know the final outcome of the meeting proved abortive.
The communique which the Media Coordinator, Mr. Fred Apeji, promised to disseminate was also not ready as at press time. SMSs and emails sent to him were not answered.
The former Managing Director of the defunct Nigerian Airways, Capt Paul Thahal, who chaired the plenary session, while acknowledging the crisis rocking the sector, said: "This meeting is mostly timely, considering that our industry is right now in the eye of the storm, albeit for the wrong reasons."
"Quite frankly, I hold brief for no one. "From all I have heard over recent happenings in the sector, it is clear to me that most have little bearing with reality, nor are they of any import, aviation wise. And I think this all because the majority of those speaking are those who are not knowledgeable about aviation."
However, speaking on the basis of anonymity, an aggrieved operator, said the entire should be lay bare if the sector must progress.
He said as things are, the industry will run into more stormy waters if those who understand the sector are not allowed to hold rein.
He added: "You can see that there is serious disagreement among because the ministry is not on the right track. For instance, we lamenting the state of infrastructure, yet a huge amount was secretly inserted into NCAA budget to purchase cars.
Continuing, he said: "The only way forward to help the sector is the waiver to local operators that has since been with the ministry. It these waivers that can help stimulate efficiency in the operation of the operators as it is done globally. While government should purge itself of corruption, it should seriously consider revitalizing ailing airlines through certain waivers." he said.
Meanwhile the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr. George Uriesi, has been elected Vice President of Airports Council International (ACI), Africa region. In a statement made available to the media, said his tenure will expire after three years.
Via: Thisday
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