By LAWANI MIKAIRU

ABUJA — The former Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, had no hand in the removal of the former heads of aviation agencies. This was the contention of the spokesperson for the Aviation parastatals, Mr. Yakubu Dati, while debunking claims by some critics that Princess Stella Oduah influenced the removal of the former heads of aviation agencies.

Dati said in a statement that the Federal Government had, in its wisdom, decided to effect changes in the top management of the aviation agencies recently, undoubtedly in the public interest.
He said the erstwhile managing directors of FAAN, Mr. George Uriesi; Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Mr. Nnamdi Udoh; Rector of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Capt. Chinyere Kalu and the Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Fola Akinkuotu all worked with the former minister throughout her tenure without any issue.

He said:“These gentlemen worked under Oduah when she was aviation minister; so if she wanted to remove any of them she possibly could have done so.”

He said Oduah left a well-articulated master plan for Nigerian aviation which “will be difficult to reverse. Most of these self-centred critics wish things remained the way they were before the Oduah era so that they could continue with their acts of impunity. We would like to sound it loud and clear that the Nigerian aviation industry can never go back to those days of mindless impunity.