The heat is on. Nigeria's most visible anti-corruption watchdog led by a
former legislator, Hon. Dino Melaye, has given Nigeria's Minister of
Aviation, Stella Oduah 72 hours to resign from office.
The
ultimatum follows revelations that she arm-twisted a cash-strapped
agency, the NCAA, to purchase two armored BMW 760 Li cars for her at
highly inflated prices.
AshmarkOlakunle gathered from a top
source in Abuja that even President Goodluck Jonathan is shocked at
Stella Oduah's spending of N255m for just two cars but can't do anything
due to some reasons.
Anyway, Dino Melaye said his group will embark on series of actions to
force President Jonathan to fire the Mrs. Oduah as a minister of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria as well as order her to return the $1.6
million to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, which was forced to buy
the cars.
Dino Melaye said the purchase of the vehicles was done
in violation of the various rules and law guiding such high-level
procurement by government officials, particularly the monetiazation
policy of federal government.
First, Dino Melaye said he is heading to court next Tuesday to force the EFCC to prosecute the Minister.
On the cost of the vehicles, Melaye described them as
“unconscionable,” recalling that the Speaker of House of Reps also
purchased two Armored Mercedes Benz S-600 B7 grade armored cars a year
ago for less than $800,000.
He also disclosed that he had
requested for quotations from Germany that show that the vehicles
actually cost less than $200,000 each. Even then, he stressed, the
Minister has no right to purchase the vehicles for her personal use in
the first place.
Stella Oduah is the co-chair of President
Jonathan’s main presidential campaign team, Neighbor-2-Neighbor hence
she may not be sacked since Jonathan is known to romance corrupt people
openly.
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