Nearly two months ago precisely Saturday, August 21, 2021, Senator Stella Adaeze Oduah, defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja at the APC’s National Secretariat, but she is yet to do so on the floor of the Senate. TAIYE ODEWALE reports
Who is Senator Stella Oduah?
Senator Stella Oduah is among the 109 Senators elected into the 9th Senate in February 2019, having earlier on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), got elected into the 8th Senate to represent the people of Anambra North senatorial district.
Prior to Senator Oduah’s election into the Senate in March 2015, she has been a card carrying member of PDP in Anambra State and a national figure having earlier served as the Honourable Minister of Aviation from July 4, 2011 to Feb 12, 2014 under President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
Even before her ministerial days, Stella Oduah was one of the organisational strategists of the then ruling party ( PDP) as the Director of Admin and Finance at the Goodluck Support Group (GSG) in 2010 and later in 2011 in collaboration with Chief A.J Turner, Mike Omeri and Godsday Orubebe, initiated a strategic group called Neighbour 2 ‘Neighbour’ Campaign Group, for the Goodluck Jonathan presidency in 2011 which served as veritable platform of mobilising voters to elect the former President into office in April 2011.
Oduah’s game of defections
Senator Oduah during the 8th Senate defected from PDP, the platform upon which she got elected into All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) on the 8th of June 2018 at the National Secretariat of the party in Abuja.
Oduah who cited Igbo interest as reason for her defection that time never officialize the Defection on the floor of the Senate before returning back to PDP three months after, precisely on 21st of September 2018 where she contested for Anambra North Senatorial seat again in 2019 and won.
While Oduah’s defection from PDP to APGA in 2018 was due to local politics cum issues, her recent defection from PDP to APC seems to be more of personal survival than anything else, going by judicial onslaughts against her by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), over alleged embezzlement of N9.4billion during her tenure as Aviation Minister .
Little wonder that when she defected to APGA, she said: “My brothers and sisters, despite my global orientation, the Igbo agenda and that of my core constituency, has always been the centrepiece of my politics. As a senator, my first obligation is to my constituency, then my state and Igbo-land; it is on this note that I announce my intention to run for the Anambra North senatorial seat under the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).
“My joining APGA is born out of the conviction that the party is the conscience of the Igbo, and because every politics is local.
“APGA possesses the midas-touch to turn the South-East into a land of gold. My brothers and sisters, APGA bu nke anyi!”
Though she spent just three months in APGA before returning to PDP but three years down the line, Oduah came up with similar game plan with her defection to APC on 21st of August this year citing national and not local politics this time around as reason for her defection.
Oduah at the occasion which was widely reported in social and conventional media platforms, said she dumped PDP for APC to change the political narrative of the South East ahead of the 2023 general election and in particular, ahead of the November 6, 2021 gubernatorial election in Anambra state.
Half-hearted declarations
As she did in June 2018 when she defected from PDP to APGA, Senator Stella Oduah has not made any official declaration on the floor of the Senate in form of letter to the President of the Senate, in announcing her change of party and by extension, change of seat.
Even entreaties made to that effect by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, during plenary last week Tuesday, was not acted upon by the Senator Oduah at plenary the following day (Wednesday last week) .
The EFCC onslaught
Senator Stella Oduah had in the heat of litigations against her by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC) over alleged mismanagement of N9.4billion as Aviation Minister during the President Goodluck Jonathan administration, hurriedly defected to APC on the 21st of August this year after a Federal High Court in Abuja threatened to issue bench warrant for her arrest and arraignment.
The threat of bench warrant came the way of the embattled Senator on July 12, 2021 when Justice Inyang Ekwo on the strength of submissions made by the EFCC counsel, Hassan Liman, ordered that she appear in court on 19th of this month or forced to do so through arrest by bench warrant.
Rattled by the judicial ambush and legal fireworks launched against her, Oduah quickly ran to the National Secretariat of APC in Abuja in company of the Deputy President of the Senate, Ovie Omo – Agege, Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State and APC guber candidate for the November 6, 2021 Anambra guber election, Senator Andy Uba etc, for political refuge.
Being an all inclusive party, the AP led by Chairman of its National Caretaker and Extra Ordinary Convention Planning Committee , Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State , accepted Odual into its fold on the 21st of August this year through a statement signed to that effect by the party’s National Director of Publicity , Salisu Dambatta.
Cautious move on the part of Oduah
But after the euphoria of the occasion that day, much has not been heard from Stella Oduah as regards her new political party.
Political watchers infact thought that since her defection was in August when the National Assembly was in recess, Oduah would follow up by making official announcement to that effect on the floor of the Senate.
But throughout the three weeks the Senate sat after its resumption on 14th of September to Wednesday, 13th October, when it suspended plenary for 2022 budget consideration at commitee level, no letter from Oduah was received by the Senate President for perfection of the defection on the floor of the Senate.
Worried by the development, the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, during plenary Tuesday last week, called on Senator Odual to move to the side of APC Senators in the hallowed chamber having defected to the party.
But that was not to be since Oduah has not officially informed the Senate of her defection through a required letter to the Senate President, a development that made Lawan to ask the Chief Whip, Orji Uzor Kalu to fast track the process for that to happen the following day (Wednesday) which however, did not happen.
Findings by the Blueprint from those close to the embattled Senator revealed that she is being cautious about her political move because of her date in the Court of law in Abuja on the 19th of this month which is now uncertain due to today’s public holiday and the November 6, guber election in her state.
One of the Senator’s close political aides who pleaded for anonymity, said the outcome of the court appearance in Abuja here and November 6, gubernatorial election in Anambra state would determine her final say on the defection.
“Oga for now does not want to do that ritual of moving from one side of the aisle in the Senate to the other, for the sake of defection but wait for the outcome of gubernatorial election coming up in her state next month and also the direction of her prosecution in the Court of law here in Abuja.
“If the candidate of APC wins in the election, my boss will do the needful in the Senate by officially announcing her defection but if APGA or PDP wins, she may not be moved into doing that”, said the source.
When reminded that sitting on the fence tactics in the Senate chamber would deny her of participation in debates as clearly seen with the one done on general principles of 2022 budget which she didn’t participate in, for fear of being asked again to move to the APC side , the source said before Senate’ s resumption of plenary on November 9, Oduah’s appearance in the court of law and Anambra guber election must have taken place.
The outcome which she added, “will shape her final decision on the issue of officialising her defection on the floor of the Senate or not.”
Scenario of being boxed to a tight corner
Though the Anambra guber election is just about two weeks from now, the outcome of which will determine the duration or otherwise of Oduah’s official defection to APC but the court case against her by EFCC on alleged embezzlement of N9.4billion as Aviation Minister between 2011 and 2014 , seems to be her major albatross for now.
The case from the look of things, will be the major weapon of whipping her to line but will she officialise her defection when Senate resumes plenary on Tuesday, November 9, 2021?
Time will definitely tell.
