EFCC Grills Former Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah For Five Hours

Former Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah, was Wednesday quizzed for more than five hours by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The ex-minister, who was embroiled in a N255 million bulletproof car scandal in the twilight of her tenure, arrived the commission at about 10 am and left  at 3.30 pm.

Sources at the commission disclosed that she was granted provisional bail after making a useful statement that will assist the investigation of the commission into the procurement of the two bulletproof BMWs by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for her personal use when she was the minister.

Her visit to the commission came on the heels of several statements by the EFCC assuring Nigerians that it would carry out a thorough investigation into the alleged shoddy purchase of the two BMW cars at an outrageous price of N255 million.

EFCC's Head of Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, recently informed journalists that given the delicate nature of the cases of which included the purchase of the cars, the commission would have to discreetly investigate the cases before it would make public its findings.

Uwujaren had requested that the media be patient and not to be in a hurry to seek information on cases concerning Oduah, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the unaccounted billions, among others, as investigations were still on-going.

Though Oduah was granted provisional bail, it is not certain if she would appear again at the commission's headquarters.

Oduah was relieved of her position in the federal cabinet when it emerged that she had ordered the NCAA to buy two BMW bulletproof cars at the over-inflated price of N255 million.

The outcry over the scandal and calls for her sack prompted the House of Representatives, whose Committee on Aviation investigated the purchase of the cars and recommended her sack.

During the probe, it also emerged that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had bought her two bulletproof Prado SUVs.

President Goodluck Jonathan, after initial resistance, also set up a presidential panel, which recommended her removal from office.

Although the minister professed her innocence when news broke on the issue, she was eventually relieved of her post by the president in February.