The All Progressives Congress (APC) has commended the House of
Representatives for taking a definitive stand on the N255 million
Aviation scandal by asking President Goodluck Jonathan to review the
continued engagement of the Minister of Aviation Stella Oduah over her
role in the scam.
In a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Monday by its Interim National
Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said by its
action, the House of Representatives has again signalled its readiness
to play its own part in fighting the massive corruption which has
enveloped the country
It said also by its unequivocal stand on the scandal, coming on the
heels of the recent criticism of President Jonathan’s tepid fight
against corruption by House Speaker Aminu Tambuwal, the House has left
no one in doubt that the legislature is taking its oversight role very
seriously.
”There is no doubt that the House of Representatives took its stand,
which included asking the EFCC to investigate and prosecute all those
involved in the scandal, after a painstaking work by its Committee on
Aviation. This action is commendable and reflects the general opinion
of Nigerians on the shameful scandal.
”Therefore, Ms. Oduah has no basis for continued occupation of her
post as Minister of Aviation and should step down immediately. If she fails to do so, she should be fired by the President,” it said.
APC said if the Minister fails to resign and the President refuses to
fire her, it will confirm the general perception across
the country that this President is not ready or willing to fight
corruption; that he is comfortable in the company of corrupt officials
and that he would rather cream off the proceeds of corruption by
taking contributions to his war chest from corrupt folks.
The party said failure by the President to heed the House of
Representatives on the Oduahgate will also add to his earlier
failure to act on the House’s decision on the massive oil subsidy
scam, and the failure of his administration to bring to justice
all those behind the series of corruption cases that have dogged the
administration.
”The list is long, and includes the pension scam, the Malabu scandal,
the massive corruption in SEC, the Halliburton scandal,
the unprecedented crude oil theft and the extensive corruption in the
oil sector.
”The President’s decision to hug corruption rather than to fight it
has also been reflected in his comments, saying for example
that the perception people have about corruption in Nigeria is
exaggerated; and that his administration is ‘winning’ the war against
corruption.
”But this overly simplistic take on corruption in Nigeria flies in
the face of the available evidence that Nigeria has sunk deeper into
the mud of corruption under President Jonathan, especially the latest
ranking by Transparency International, which lists Nigeria as one of
the most corrupt nations in the world, and the report of the US Bureau
of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices for 2012, which shows Nigerian government officials and
agencies frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
”It is now up to President Jonathan to take the fight against
corruption seriously and work with other arms of government in
combating the canker worm, or go down in the history of the country as
the most corrupt administration ever. He can start by acting
decisively on the Aviation scandal, and stop using ad-hoc panels to
bury corruption cases,” APC said.
