Stella Oduah
Recent happenings in the Aviation industry in general and in
particular; the government Agency saddled with the regulatory
responsibility of civil Aviation in Nigeria; The Nigerian Civil Aviation
Authority (NCAA) has thrown up a number of ethical issues which borders
on professionalism, integrity, loyalty, patriotism and trust.
This piece seeks to dissect the fact leading to the build-up to the
Oduagate Bullet-proof car saga, so as to shed further light on the
imbroglio.
The unceremonious removal of the erstwhile Director-General of NCAA;
Harold Demuren as a fallout of the DANA air crash incident, despite his
achievement for the Nigerian Air travel industry was cleverly
orchestrated to create the much needed lacuna for official
high-handedness and graft.
It will be recalled that Minister of Aviation Stella Odua removed two
of the parastatal Chiefs under her watch viz; Richard Aisebugbu who was
MD of Federal Airports Authority Of Nigeria (FAAN), and Alhaji Auyo who
was the MD of NAMA all in one fell swoop, leaving only Harold Demuren
of NCAA.
She immediately shopped for more docile and subservient persons who
will not only dance to her tunes without asking questions but also will
even go the extra mile to protect her interest. This exercise, which
ordinarily appears as a normal repositioning effort by her, brought up
Mazi Nnamdi Udoh (Current MD of NAMA) and George Uresi (MD of FAAN).
These two were found to posses all the needed character and were taken
to Oduah to pledge their loyalty to “the cause”.
It will further be recalled that Harold Demuren of NCAA had emerged
as the doyen of the industry by this time, having successfully
repositioned the Industry in addition to leading Nigeria to earn the
much coveted CAT 1 Status from America, He was then being celebrated
both locally and abroad and so Oduah was in a fix and could not
immediately remove him.
Harold Demuren grounded Dana Airline after its crash, government
investigated the crash, compensations were paid to victims family, the
airline fleet was re-audited and on the order of the Minister Of
Aviation, Demuren cleared the Airline to resume flight operation, not
knowing he will be made the fall guy for these.
Despite former president Olusegun Obasanjo’s passionate appeal to
President Jonathan to let Demuren remain on his job, as well as
interventions of well meaning Nigerians, Odua hand-twisted President
Jonathan to unceremoniously sack the man on the basis of one air crash
within a spate of about five years crash free record.
It is noteworthy that Nnamdi Udoh of NAMA who was brought in by
Odua, contributed in no small measure to Demuren’s exit by regularly
feeding his principal false allegations about Demuren. It was a gang-up
of sort against the regulatory agency (NCAA), with George Uresi of FAAN,
Nnamdi Udoh of NAMA and the Minister all tearing ferociously at the
soul of NCAA.
The era of Dog eat dog has fully evolved in the Aviation Industry.
It is instructive to know that on the eve of Demuren’s departure from
NCAA, he was inclined to hand over the organization to the most senior
among his Directors in person of one Abdullahi Adamu from Bauchi State; a
seasoned career civil servant with about 30 years industry experience,
but he (Demuren) was ordered by the Minister to hand over to Joyce
Nkemakolam who just became Director at NCAA the same month.
Nnamdi Udoh of NAMA as the only trusted hand they could work with
recommended Joyce Nkemakolamm to the Minister. Both Joy and Nnamdi udoh
are long-standing brothers who came from the same village in Arochukwu
in Anambra State. Both were air traffic officers, both entered civil
service the same month and year. Nnamdi udoh could not have found a
better replacement to Demuren than this.
Suffice to say that Joy Nkemakolam the new acting Dg of NCAA never
had any formal education, not even an OND; He rose between the ranks as a
complacent civil servant for about 30 years. Perhaps the only gift he
has which brought him to the fore was his docility, subservience,
malleability and cooperativeness.
Within a spate of about 4 months, the regulatory authority (NCAA’s)
autonomy was surrendered sheepishly by Joy Nkemakola backed by Nnamdi
Udoh of NAMA to the Minister and by extension the Aviation Ministry.
The stage is now set for the Plunder and gathering of the spoils of war.
The current Oduahgate armored car saga is just a fraction of the
atrocious financial recklessness jointly perpetrated on aviation
agencies finances by the team Oduah comprising of the Minister, Nnamdi
Udoh of NAMA, George uresi of FAAN, Joy Nkemakola of NCAA, Ene Ita
(former perm Sec, now Presidential Adviser) and Aviation Ministry
Officials.
Oduah soon turned a highly professional, compartmentalized and
sensitive industry where each person has his specific duties into a
single unit where anybody is ordered to do any other person’s work.
Nnamdi Udoh of NAMA an air traffic controller soon begin to clear
Aircraft for takeoff on the Tarmarc, (a statutory duty of NCAA). He it
was who cleared Dana aircraft upon its recertification by NCAA.
Yakubu Datti of FAAN soon became the spokesman of NCAA (operator
speaking on behalf of regulator), speaking on safety and security
issues, avionics, aircraft engineering matters and air crashes. No
wonder the apparent confusion and double-speaking over the last air
crash.
The rape on the regulatory agency (NCAA) was quite tortuous and
bleeding, but the hapless agency eagerly awaits a substantive Director
General who will at least take charge of things, heal her wounds and
restore part of her battered dignity.
Association of airline Pilots and other concerned stakeholders
observed the ugly trend of events in the industry early enough, voiced
their fears and even feebly tried to get the attention of president
Jonathan and the Minister herself, but it does appears that the Minister
has successfully pulled a wool over the eyes and ears of the senate,
house of reps and the President with her celebrated but hollow new
airports buildings.
The airport remodeling itself is a grandiose, stage-managed deception
which served as a conduit pipe to siphon money by the Minister, imagine
under-aged Chinese technical school dropouts sharing millions of
dollars of our Bilateral Air service Agreements money with Oduah and
building us a replica of their low quality china town as airports; never
in the history of Nigeria have we been so beguiled and cheated.
Oduah used George Uresi of FAAN to steal billions under the Airport
remodeling charade, She plundered the BASA fund which NCAA had
painstakingly gathered up, She took over the control of Aviation
agencies revenue by unilaterally concessioning out the revenue
generation of the agencies to a consortium of private firms namely
Avicollect and First bank Plc on an outrageously high percentage basis.
On top of it all, because the agencies funds domiciled at first bank
is within her reach, she removes as much as she wants in both local and
foreign currencies from the holding account even before the agencies
gets to share what is left.
She placed a monthly standing order for deduction of millions on the
accounts of the agencies and it is instructive to note that all
transactions relating to the purchase of about six exotic cars for odua
were all made by standing order deduction at source from the agencies
account.
As the search for a substantive head for NCAA begins, Oduah and her
cohorts tinkered with the idea of transiting Joy Nkemakola to the
Substantive Director- General of the agency.
Oduah and Ene-ita sought the support of the senate Committee on
Aviation and the House Committee on Aviation to get Nkemakola into
office, Oduah equally mounted pressure on president Jonathan telling him
she has seen the only man she could successfully work with.
It took sustained pressure from South west Obas and leaders of
thought before president Jonathan agreed to look for a credible
alternative from the region.
The emergence of the man Capt. Fola Akinkuotu as the substantive Director-general of NCAA was one borne out of necessity.
While Harold Demuren is an Aircraft Engineer,Akinkuotu is a revered
pilot, aircraft inspector cum engineer, seasoned administrator and
educationist with over 43 years industry experience. His pedigree and
intimidating qualification made President Jonathan to call him forth
from the International Aviation College in Ilorin where he was serving
out an earlier national assignment.
During his brief stint as the pioneer rector of the Aviation College,
he was given a presidential mandate to produce Nigerian first set of
locally trained pilots in eighteen months, he did graduated the first
set of pilots in sixteen and half months. This was a feat that even the
Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), which has been in
existence for several years had not once achieved.
Akinkoutu encouraged and liaised with several state governments to
sponsor their indigene for pilots and aircraft engineers training so as
to bridge the gap in the dearth of capable hands in Aviation industry.
It is therefore not surprising that this man once again caught the
attention of President Jonathan as one who could consolidate the gains
recently recorded in the industry.
Akinkuotu professional colleagues in the Pilot association warned him
of the danger ahead as the Minister has completely turn the whole
industry upside down, The Minister had planted her core loyalists who
are obvious strangers to the industry, and are as clueless and bereft of
any idea as to how aviation business is conducted within every corner
of NCAA. Some of these new entrants are failed politicians who worked
alongside her in election campaign; they regularly display utter
abhorrence for the civil service system of the regulatory agency,
disrespect for the management and brought pollution into the system
through their compounded greed and avarice.
While Akinkuotu obviously stoically took his nomination as a higher
call to serve his fatherland and awaited his confirmation by the
Nigerian senate, team Oduah to make sure Akinkuotu confirmation never
see the light of the day was hatching another plot.
Intrigues and delays accompanied the senate invitation giving
Akinkuotu, The Minister who was supposed to take him along to the senate
for clearance abandoned him, and left the shores of Nigeria on various
aviation road show exercise to different countries, into which millions
of the Aviation Agencies money was spent. NAMA, FAAN and NCAA never
fully recovered from the financial quagmire into which they were plunged
as a result of the Aviation road show jamboree.
Oduah did not honor Senate Invitation to present Akinkuotu for
screening for three and half months, She was frantically deploying all
in her arsenal not only to frustrate the screening process, but also to
perpetually keep her stooge Nkemakolam on the saddle, to plunder as much
as possible for her.
Several phony supply contracts, Consultancy services contracts and
Personnel training Contracts were awarded in NAMA NCAA and FAAN during
this period.
When it seems the senate will go ahead with the screening with or
without her after their recess, she began to reorganize the Agencies to
her favor and stepped up looting process through her stooges in charge
at the three agencies.
Unending training of hundreds of fictitious Ministry staffs both
overseas and locally, is the order of the day. Each local training was
being awarded at outrageous cost between 200,000 and 300,000 Naira per
participants, Foreign training which were never attended were arranged
and foreign currencies paid out to Ministry staffs, all these while the
NAMA, FAAN and NCAA were still grappling with the issue of their
mandatory internal staff training due to lack of funds.
These atrocities clearly predated Akinkuotu taking over of office and none of it should be hanged on his neck.
Even when Akinkuotu nomination was eventually ratified by the senate
after almost three and half months, Joy Nkemakolam continued to
hurriedly sign and backdate contracts approvals, employment letters and
other financial transactions and whether he has stopped this backdating
of approvals cannot be ascertained because our source reveals that new
employees still daily turn up with backdated employment letters bearing
Joy Nkemakolam’s signature in their droves at NCAA up to date.
During the period of the senseless looting spree, Nnamdi Udoh and Joy
Nkemakola bought several properties in Lagos (Maryland area
specifically) and the east, the duo tarred an entire stretch of road in
their village arochuckwu and this earned them Chieftaincy titles from
the Arochuckwu monarch.
We deeply sympathize with Fola Akinkotun who is presently between the
devil and the deep blue sea and have now being given the unsavory task
of clearing his friendly- enemies’ names over the atrocities they all
colluded to commit when he (Akinkuotu) had not taken over control at
NCAA.
The head of the Nigerian masses, Posterity and perhaps the blood of
all the victims of air crashes that occurred under Oduah’s watch will
judge the thieving Oduah Crew.
For now, President Jonathan should set aside party affiliation
between himself and Oduah, rise above any temporal sentiment and do what
all Nigerian expect of him, to sort out the Nigerian Aviation Industry,
by restoring back full autonomy of NCAA, and breaking the shackles of
the Ministry of Aviation away from NCAA’s neck.
Then and only then can Akinkuotu pick up the Shattered fragments of the industry and mold it back to a world delight.
SaharaReporters
The
interim national women leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC,
Mrs. Sharon Ikeazor, has said that the party would give women more
attention if given the mandate in the 2015 presidential election.
