New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) has called for caution and restraint in the way people react to the controversy over the alleged purchase of Two Hundred and Fifty Five Million Naira (N255m) two armoured cars for the Honourable Minister of Aviation Ms Stella Oduah by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
In a release signed by its national chairman, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, the NNPP noted that “the revelations at the public hearing by the National Assembly have once again demonstrated the need for restraint and sober reflection, so as not to allow the import of the exact problem with our dear nation to be beclouded by the passion being expressed by both the anti- Oduah and pro-Oduah, as the situation has turned into.”
Describing the efforts of the President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and the National Assembly in setting up separate probe panels to beam their search-light on all the hidden areas in the armoured cars issues, as a step in the right direction, the NNPP however warned that “the on-going war of words by the proponents and opponents of “Oduah must resign” campaign is uncalled for and may not help us in the long run if we must get to the root of the matter.”
“We are quite aware of the many commendations the Honourable Minister of Aviation, Ms Stella Oduah had garnered in the past over what some see as the good works she is doing in the sector, and this is a plus for her.
“The NNPP is not saying good work is a license to abuse office, what we are saying is that we should not rush into undue condemnation that we may find difficult to correct when the true colour is eventually presented before the nation. If you are in doubt that the efforts to investigate the issue are yielding results, the various revelations at the public hearing by the National Assembly are pointing to some of the errors in the administration of some good policies of government.
“On the other hand, NNPP as a national party is deeply concerned about the ethnic dimension being introduced into the armoured cars issue. The African culture abhors wrong doings and corrupt practices. We are aware that no ethnic group in Nigeria encourages corruption, although corruption among greater numbers knows no ethnic boundary. So we advise those who are trying to turn this alleged scandal into an ethnic thing to think more about solutions than allowing the problems to fester.
“We are therefore appealing to Nigerians to allow the on-going due process aimed at getting to the root of the matter continue as this will help us as a nation to correct mistakes (if any) in the transactions which culminated in the alleged scandal. Nothing should be done to truncate this process in the interest of transparency, accountability and our Nationhood.”
The party appealed to Nigerians not to use the opportunity of tyhe present scandal to intimidate or blackmail the women folks, as the matter was already following due process.
“It is important that we use this medium to state that our women should not be unduly intimidated or blackmailed in a matter that is already following a due process of enquiry. We are constrained to encourage women in politics to actually establish their relevance without unduly agitating or begging for their right.
“Women in politics in Nigeria should in reality come together and advance a leader that has pedigree or track record of achievements and we doubt if anyone would rise against such a woman. The truth of the matter is that power is not given but taken through due process of election,” the party said.
