UPDATE: STELLA ODUAH FINALLY HANDS OVER
Priness Stella Oduah, the former Minister of Aviation finally handed over today at the Ministry of Aviation, Federal secretariat Abuja. Present at the handing over today was the newly appointed Permanent Secretary, Ministry of aviation, Dr Mrs Jamilla Shu’ara, The Supervising Minister of Aviation, Dr. Samuel Ortom and his aides. The hand over was […]
Priness Stella Oduah, the former Minister of Aviation finally handed over today at the Ministry of Aviation, Federal secretariat Abuja.
Present at the handing over today was the newly appointed Permanent Secretary, Ministry of aviation, Dr Mrs Jamilla Shu’ara, The Supervising Minister of Aviation, Dr. Samuel Ortom and his aides.
The hand over was done at the Ministry of Aviation at about 11am.
EARLIER TODAY:
Activities are gradually grinding to a halt in Nigeria’s aviation ministry following the failure of the embattled former minister Mrs. Stella Oduah to handover running of the ministry to the supervising minister, Mr. Samuel Ortom, the Minister of State for Trade and Investment. Mrs Oduah twice failed to turn up for the hand over earlier billed to take place last Friday.
That day a new permanent Secretary, Dr Mrs Jamilla Shu’ara ,took over from the immediate past Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mr. George Ossi. When it was the turn of the minister to hand over to the new supervising minister, journalist were told to return in the evening as ‘madam’ could not make it and no reason was given for her absence.
Also,it could not be ascertained whether the new supervising minister also made it to the event. A ministry source who pleaded anonymity told Daily Trust that ‘madam’s sack came to her as a shock. “Therefore she will need some more time to prepare her handover notes. You know madam normally takes her time” he said. Journalists were, therefore, asked to return 3:30 pm Monday as the ex-minister couldn’t still make it that Friday evening. It was further postponed till 4:30 pm Monday.
After waiting for the former minister for hours on Monday, news later filtered in that the handing over ceremony had been postponed yet again due to the minister’s absence. Her spokesman, Joe Obi, never returned calls put to his phone, but our reporter coincidentally sighted him driving through Central Business District at the same time journalists were waiting at the Ministry for his principal.
He was never seen throughout the period journalists waited for the hand over. Meanwhile, activities at the ministry remain aground despite the presence of a new permanent Secretary, who, one of the officials in the ministry said, would need a little time to learn the ropes in the ministry.”For now we don’t have a minister, since no hand over yet.
For our permanent Secretary, you know she is new here. She just took over last week. Even though she is not new to the permanent secretary job, this is aviation ministry where a lot has happened in the last 10 months. So, don’t expect much activities now, please” the source added.
A visit yesterday by our reporter to offices in the ministry reveal activities in entire ministry are more skeletal as visitors troop in and out unattended to. Our reporter disguised as a visitor with appointment with one of the directors but was told nothing was happening in the ministry.
Despite insisting on waiting till the director returned, officials in the office never attended to him or any of the visitors who later got infuriated and left. Before 3pm Monday afternoon most of the key offices in the ministry had been deserted as no form of checks or supervision now take place. A situation which has been attributed to the administrative changes that are going on in the ministry.