Why Jonathan fired Stella Oduah, Orubebe, two others

**Some of the ministers sacked Wednesday have corruption allegations hanging on their necks

President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday summoned uncommon courage, firing four of his ministers – three of which have been enmeshed in controversies and corruption allegations.

The sack of the four ministers is the second major overhaul of the lacklustre federal cabinet undertaken by President Jonathan in the last seven months.

The ministers relieved of their appointments are Stella Oduah (Aviation), Godsday Orubebe (Niger
Delta Affairs), Caleb Olubolade (Police Affairs) and Yerima Ngama (Finance).

Briefing journalists after the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting at the Presidential Villa, Information Minister, Labaran Maku, said the
president announced the removal of the ministers during the meeting.

“The President announced further changes in the Federal Executive Council,” Mr. Maku said. “He
said a number of ministers had been asked to step out from the council to pursue their own interests, some in politics and others in their own private focus.

Mainly what the President did today was to allow the Ministers that have indicated interest in pursuing further growth in the economy to be allowed to go.”

Mr. Maku said the Aviation ministry would now be supervised by the Minister of State for Trade and
Investment, Samuel Ortom. While the Ministry of Niger Delta would be supervised by its Minister of State, Gauis Ishaku , the Ministry of Police Affairs would be supervised by the Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Olajumoke
Akinjide.

The Ministry of Finance would continue to be manned by its minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

Showing them the door

While Ms. Oduah was sacked in absentia as she was not at the cabinet meeting, the other affected
ministers were in attendance at what turned out their last FEC meeting.

The ministers of police affairs and Niger Delta affairs however left before the end of the meeting.

The sack of the cabinet members came barely seven months after nine of their colleagues were dropped and two weeks after the president sent 12 ministerial nominees to the Senate for confirmation.

The ministers sacked last September were Shamsuddeen Usman (Minister of National Planning), Olugbenga Ashiru (Foreign Affairs), Hadiza Mailiafia (Environment), Ruqqayat Ahmed
(Education), Ita Ewa (Science and Technology) and Ama Pepple (Housing and Urban Development).

Others were Bukar Tijani (Minister of State for Agriculture), Zainab Kuchi (Power), and Olusola Obada (Defence).

The new ministerial nominees the president sent to the Senate on January 21 for confirmation are
Aliyu Gusau (Zamfara), Boni Haruna (Adamawa), Musiliu Obanikoro (Lagos), Akon Eyakeni (Akwa Ibom), Mohammed Wakil (Borno), Lawrencia Mallam (Kaduna), Aminu Wali (Kano) and Jumilia Salim  (Kano).

Asabe Ahmed (Niger), Abduljelili Oyewale (Osun), T.W. Danagogo (Rivers) and Khaliru Alhassan
(Sokoto) were also nominated.

Before the removal of the nine ministers nine months ago, two others — Haliru Mohammed (Defence), and Inuwa Abdul-kadir (Youth Affairs) — were dropped while Ali Pate (Minister of State for Health) resigned to take up a teaching appointment in the United States.

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