Former Minister of Aviation, Sen. Stella Oduah, says she is unaware of any probe by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on any matter allegedly concerning her.
She was reacting to media report that she had been invited by the anti-graft agency for questioning over a N225 million bullet-proof BMW allegedly purchased her when she was a minister.
The car was said to have been bought by one of the agencies under the aviation ministry.
But, Oduah told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday that there was no basis upon which she could be probed, saying that the vehicle did not belong to her.
“To start with, I do not know where any letter on the probe is because nobody has invited me, and as far as I know, there is nothing and there cannot be anything on invitation for purchase of a BMW.
“I did not buy a BMW; I have never bought a BMW. The BMW is a property of the government, and it is still in government care.
“The car is with the agency that bought it.
“The agency is still using it, and so, why will the car which belongs to government and in the care of government and being used by government, be an issue for me?
“I have since left the ministry,” she said.
She said that the reports were the handiworks of persons, who were not comfortable with the tremendous achievements she made in the aviation sector and wanted to tarnish her image.
The former minister said that when she was appointed, Nigerian airports were in poor states and could be compared to motor parks.
She said that no effort by anyone, including her predecessors in the ministry, could be compared with she did to reposition the aviation industry for the period she was the minister.
Oduah, now a lawmaker, challenged anyone to do a comparative analysis of the sector before she became minister, while she was minister and after she left as minister.
“I think some people are not just comfortable that what we did in aviation is unimaginable.
“What we did in aviation was so far-reaching that it had never been done before; it was unprecedented.
“To get into the lounge where people sit was impossible; most motor parks were better than what we had at the airport, whether in Lagos, Abuja or Sokoto.
“We took them on and efficiently, and in a very timely manner, changed every one of them and made Nigeria airspace safe,’’ she said.
She said safety of Nigerian passengers was made a priority while she held sway, adding that landing gears, flight gadgets, and every single thing was functioning to make Nigeria’s airspace recognised by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
“I challenge anybody to just do a spreadsheet; how aviation was before, how I made aviation and how aviation is today.”
Speaking on her motivation while she was aviation minister, Sen. Oduah said that she believed that Nigerians deserved better than they had at the time.
She said that she saw her appointment as coming from God and as such it was her obligation to do her best for the sector.
Oduah added that it was not enough to build airport infrastructure as maintaining them too was very important.
“We were literally sleeping in the office, I used my hands to mop airports and that is not because people could not do it, I believed it was what I needed to do at that point in time.
“I believed that when I was done with aviation I want to stand tall that I came and I left a full pass and I did.
“If the floor is not okay after 3 years because they are not cleaning it you say it is Stella Oduah that did it.
“The roof is leaking because you failed to maintain, even in your own house you must maintain what you have.
“I recognise that often in Nigeria when people have empty lives they need to bring other people to their level so that they can feel better, I am okay with that, I can live with that but I think to be fair let those people do a spreadsheet score card,” she said.
NAN
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