Oke Ndigbo Takes Position On All The 312 Armoured Cars Owned By Nigeria Public Officers

The source of the war ragging against the person of Princess Stella Oduah, the Minister of Aviation is clearer today after she appeared before the National Assembly to state her side of the story.

The facts are open from her explanation that we should do ourselves the sincere good of separating between Stella Oduah and the Minister for Aviation. The two are not the same. But the similarity is that someone called Stella Oduah is the Minister of Aviation today, which can't be forever. While Oduah came and would go, the minister would remain.

Therefore, it becomes apparent that if we are not working from a ready-made answer called mischief to a question also called mischief, we would make the difference that a car or cars bought for the minister is not for Oduah. The cars, from the documents we have seen in public domain do not belong to Oduah, but to the minister. That means they were not procured in her name. The meaning is that when Oduah must have left office, the cars remain for whoever becomes the Aviation Minister.

She incurred the wrath of the hawks when she insisted the right thing must be done in the management of the aviation spaces. First of all, she moved lawfully against Bi Courtney's ways in management of FAAN facilities. Dele Sobowale's piece in the Vanguard Newspaper, February 24 this year didn't mince words in admitting that since Oduah fights against Wale Babalakin's interest in the aviation sector, she has invariably declared war on Yoruba and the race, as he alleged would fight until she is removed. The media reported that:

“Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) ordered operators of Murtala Muhammed Airport terminal two (MMA2), Lagos, Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), to pay the agency N1,968,634,455.95.00 as debt incurred from the services it rendered to the domestic terminal.

FAAN alleged breaches committed by Bi-Courtney in the agreements related to the two projects. BASL built and is operating the domestic terminal, known as MMA2 under the build, operate and transfer (BOT) concession agreement and according to regulations, FAAN, as government agency in charge of the airports in the country, must provide terminal security, fire cover and other services which BASL ought to pay for.

This figure, according to FAAN represents all debts owed FAAN for services rendered the company as spelt out in the concession agreement since September 8, 2007 when it began operating the terminal, alleging that Bi-Courtney has rebuffed every attempt made by FAAN to recover this huge debt, including debt reconciliation meetings between officials of the two organisations.

These debts include aviation security, N45,604,085.74; fire/safety cost, N36,649,223.96; marshalling, N2,125,065.54; electricity cost, N252,038,510.006; maintenance band, N200,000,000.00; 5% concession fees, N726,900,069.00; REUT (hotel), N97,200,000.00; SRC (hotel), N9,720,000.00; REUT (conference hall), N73,860,219.00; SRC (conference hall), N7,386,021.00, a total of N1,968,634,455.95. “It is important to state that since Bi-Courtney started operating the BOT terminal on September 8, 2007, it has refused to make its audited account available to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), in line with the terms of agreement for that concession, despite several reminder letters.”

That is exactly the ethnicization of the aviation Sobowale referred to in his anti-Oduah crusade. Apart from the upgrade of our 22 airports nationwide Oduah undertook without a breach, what irks Sobowale and other champions of the cause of 'Yoruba' exemplified in the above-the-law position of Bi Courtney in reneging on terms of contract with FAAN which Sobowale maliciously raised to the ethnic standard is his resolve to aggregate the Yoruba to attack relentlessly Stella Odua.

When the same Oduah rebuilt the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Ikeja and others, she had no ethnic agenda against Sobowale, Bi Courtney and others, but when she actualized the idea of making the Akanu Ibiam Airport an international terminal, she incurred the wrath of Sobowale and some others from his divide of the nation who actually feel that the Igbo nation from which Oduah comes must remain slaves of their group and don't deserve to have an international airport in their domain.

Until the day Enugu became international airport, the South East remained the only Geo-Political zone without such even when the North West has two in Sokoto and Kano. The argument raised by Sobowale's compatriot, a Wole had argued earlier in the year in The Guardian Newspaper that given the security situation in the country, it is unwise to open the nation to more international outlets or entry points. We are convinced he was speaking for the Sobowale war team and strategy against Stella Oduah. But he forgot that whereas Lagos and Kano are at the periphery of the nation and face worse insecurity, Enugu is landlocked and should not be a major issue.

While this platform would not support or condone corruption in any measure, we would still not forget the ethnic war Sobowale, Bi Courtney etc. had earlier this year declared on Stella Oduah. They didn't mince words on this and they have always furthered it in the clandestine press meetings their chief executives have been holding at Asokoro, Abuja lately to sustain the campaign against Oduah, a pure ethnic agenda.

As means of sustaining the ethnic angle to this war, we would want to let Sobowale know that his rants would get adequate answers because if Oduah's involvement in the car deal is wrong, Bi Courtney refusal to abide by terms of contracts it entered into with FAAN is not less grievous. Sobowale has kept the battle so far as he promised, and while we still reminisce on the last deportation of Ndi Igbo from the west, we have taken the pains of conducting research on armoured cars use by government officials in Nigeria. If Sobowale, a third party in the FAAN/Bi Courtney matter had tackled Oduah as an individual, we would not have joined issues with him. But for boldly introducing the ethnic angle, we would let him know that Oduah has ethnic group and would be defended because she is not an outcast. Declaring war on her from the ethnic point of view is declaring war on her ethnic identity. And Sobowale knew that when he started.

The order and very important dimension to the fight against Oduah is actually a fight targeted at President Goodluck Jonathan's administration. Stella Oduah is like an outstanding positive mark in the administration and because of the strides she has taken in the aviation sector which are squarely and correctly credit to the president, the forces from all parts of the nation that build politics of opposition into every issue in Nigeria target to slush some tar on the president and his administration.

It started manifesting when the Federal Government severed the Bi Courtney contract of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway for lack of performance. The airport concession termination took it further. And the argument is that the president should just fold his hands and watch breaches in contracts between the government and individuals because they are so powerful and above the law.

From the South West and Kano particularly, the clamour has been loud against Oduah over the Enugu Airport going international. While Kano governor sees everything wrong in that, he has deployed every calumny possible to rubbish it even inventing falsehood against Oduah for allegedly diverting foreign flights away from Kano to Enugu. But he never proved any of those false claims. Kwankwaso is of the New and splinter PDP and sees nothing good in President Jonathan. He has faulted everything about the administration and last week, a member of the House of Representatives from the South West boldly stood at the floor of the House to argue against the BASA agreement President Jonathan's signed in Israel. His argument is that Nigeria is prone to security threats and therefore opening new air agreement especially with Israel is dangerous. His stance is just because he belongs to the New PDP and must kick everything President Jonathan does. We have heard that argument severally and most of them to ensure that Enugu Airport never gets accredited as international outlet. The facts are known and glaring. All these political spicing that led to rubbishing Oduah; are known to all of us.

Our research has shown that while about 242 public officers use about 312 armoured cars in Nigeria, the South West has 38% of this (118 cars) and the first government official in the first four years of this Republic to import armoured Mercedes Benz Jeep into this country is from Sobowale's zone. We have the figure of the purchase and other details, and even the one he uses today. Even the NSA office can't dispute this accurate data.

Part of our findings are gleaned from a Chicago (Texas Armouring Inc.) armouring firm that on internet inquiry told us that between 2010 and now, the company makes between $25m to $30m from Nigeria public officers to get their cars armoured. From the findings, full armouring costs $85,000 while soft armouring (windows and doors only) cost $45,000. Building a car with armoury from scratch is like quadruples of this cost.

If the fight gets to Sobowale actualizing his ethnic agenda against Stella Oduah, we would do the best of sending this list to the National Assembly, EFCC, ICPC for full public investigation of the involved persons, including NASS members, ministers, governors, security officials etc. Good enough, with the South West commanding 38% of this compendium, the stench would fester more in Sobowale's region.

It's a promise we must keep because that would be the surest way to reply Sobowale and all ethnic crusaders in the fight.

SIGNED:

COMRADE JUDE NWORAH
NATIONAL COORDINATOR

CHIEF EZE CHIDUBEM

NATIONAL SECRETARY