A Rep’s volte-face on aviation projects

It is not for nothing that she has managed to keep her position of considerable influence over the past four years as Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation. But in the past few weeks, she appears to be running out of tricks. Onyeojeoka recently visited the Ministry of Aviation and several aviation […]

It is not for nothing that she has managed to keep her position of considerable influence over the past four years as Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation. But in the past few weeks, she appears to be running out of tricks. Onyeojeoka recently visited the Ministry of Aviation and several aviation agencies under it, on what everyone thought would be the routine duty of performing her committee’s “oversight” functions; it turned out, there was nothing routine about this one.
As reports of that visit suggest, it was as if she was on a self-appointed mission to discredit the aviation master plan and, in particular, the airports re-modelling project spearheaded by former Aviation minister, Princess Stella Oduah, which she had previously praised. She now says she does not know anything about the aviation master plan and the airports re-modelling project, ‘realising’, according to her that the remodelling project did not follow due process.
Yet it was common knowledge in aviation and legislative circles that Mrs Onyeojeoka was carried along in the implementation of these programmes by the erstwhile aviation minister.
Indeed, she eagerly participated and took a prominent position at the commissioning ceremonies of several of the remodelled airports around the country last year.  What could be the reason for this volte-face? Could it be connected with the 2015 general elections that are just round the corner?
This is the same airspace and airports she and her committee members traversed every day and also participated in commissioning ceremonies, contract signing ceremonies, among others, yet she now claims these were flawed.
To jug our memory, the contract for the financing for the five new international airports under construction by CECC of China was a bilateral agreement between Nigeria and China, which was signed during the state visit of President Jonathan to China last July. The financial package was signed by the finance minister, not the aviation minister. And before then, the contract package financed by the Chinese government had gone through all regulatory approvals, including that of the Federal Executive Council (FEC). So how can this be Oduah’s doing alone? There’s no point here extolling the airports re-modelling project, which many have come to agree is worthwhile one for the country. The benefits are too glaring to restate.
 The unfortunate thing is that Onyeojeoka’s apparent amnesia would have the effect of inviting doubts on the project, even in the short-term, but will serve to bring enduring public ridicule on her inconsistency   Even the supervising aviation minister, Mr Ortom’s recent statement hinting that government may go on with these laudable projects at a slower pace going into an election year 2015 was twisted to look like the government had decided to jettison them.

Emmanuel Emeka, Lagos