N255m cars: APC carpets Aviation Ministry for politicizing scandal, TMG asks Oduah to resign

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has decried the political colouration being added to the N255 cars scandal involving the Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah.

In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the APC said it would be most unreasonable for anyone to blame the supposed opposition to President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election in 2015 as reason for the widespread outcry against the monumental corruption and abuse of office engendered by the scandal.

It said that the opposition, in particular, should not be blamed for the justifiable indignation of most Nigerians to the corruption scandal, as Yakubu Dati, who goes by the nebulous title of ‘coordinating spokesperson for the Aviation Ministry’ tried to do in his winding postulation on the scandal.

‘’What Dati and his co-spin doctors tried to do is to play on President Jonathan’s insecurity as far as 2015 elections are concerned. This is very insulting not only to Nigerians but also to President Jonathan himself, and it will not sell.

“After all, attempts to blame the opposition for the lingering ASUU strike have also failed. In any case, what is the business of a public servant, who is supposed to be apolitical, about whether a President is re-elected or not?

‘’We in the APC have not joined the fray over the Oduahgate scandal since it broke out because we thought this was a straightforward case of corruption and abuse of office that should be summarily dealt with. But President Jonathan has again failed to live up to expectation, thus allowing all manner of clowns to pull the wool over the eyes of Nigerians in the name of defending the indefensible,’’ APC said.

The party wondered why President Jonathan would engage in a diversionary and exculpatory strategy of setting up a panel to investigate the scandal, when there are statutory bodies that are supposed to do so.

Meanwhile, the Transition Monitoring Group, (TMG) has called for the resignation of Ms. Oduah.

In a statement jointly signed by its Chairman, Ibrahim M. Zikirullahi and the Publicity Secretary, Eddy Ezurike, TMG noted that in a decent society where value system is not relegated to the background, both the Minister and Director General of NCAA should have been suspended from their positions to enable unfettered and uninhibited investigation.

“However, from the response of the Aviation Minister, it is clear that relevant documents concerning the purchase of ludicrous BMW armoured cars may have been destroyed and evidence invented to justify the unjustifiable,” it said.

The group added that the action contradicts the anti-corruption posture of President Goodluck Jonathan’s government.

“It is intolerable and deceitful for a ministry struggling to overcome endless air mishaps on account of poor funding and mismanagement to be engaged in such frivolous transactions and financial misdemeanour.”