Former aviation minister, Stella Oduah has been spending quality time with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. So much quality time, that on Wednesday, she was holed up at the EFCC’s Idiagbon House headquarters in Abuja for over five hours. Oduah arrived at Idiagbon House at about 10 am and only left after being granted provisional bail at 3:30 pm.
It is understood that the now disgraced minister was interrogated and then required to make a statement that could ‘assist’ the commission’s ongoing investigation into the purchase of those two BMW bulletproof cars by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority that had the nation in uproar last year.
The EFCC is taking this investigation seriously, the evidence being the fact that Oduah was grilled by the dreaded Intelligence and Special Operations Section. Our source said, “The former minister, Ms. Oduah, was today(Wednesday) quizzed for more than five hours by operatives of the EFCC.
The Punch cites an EFCC source as saying that, “The Intelligence and Special Operations Unit is in charge of the case. Chike, who belongs to ‘Team 3’ led the team of investigators on Wednesday.
“He is the head of the team of investigators handling the case but he reports to the sectional head of ISOS, Mr. Abdul Suleiman.” The EFCC had in the past refused to disclose when it would interrogate the ex-minister as part of its ongoing investigation into the scandal that has now come to be known as Oduahgate. The commission’s head of Media and Publicity, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, had said that it was not in the character of the EFCC to inform those to be interrogated in advance.
The purchase of the cars at a whopping N255m had sparked a nationwide controversy which culminated in the removal of Oduah on February 12 this year. Before she left the Federal Executive Council, the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation had prepared a report, endorsed by the House on December 19, 2013, which recommended a review of Oduah’s appointment for approving N643 million for the NCAA to buy 54 vehicles last year.
The budgetary limit at the time was N100 million.
House spokesman, Mr. Zackary Mohammed, at the time famously said, “The word ‘review’ here means a change in status. It is a mild way of saying that Mr. President should sack the minister.”
President Goodluck Jonathan himself also commissioned a committee to car purchases , but the panel’s findings which indicted the minister were not implemented.
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