Jonathan continues the purging of Igbos from his administration. Sacks heads of Aviation agencies

President Goodluck Jonathan , has continued to purge his administration of Igbo in sensitive positions of his government. Due the massive support he received from the Igbos during his emergence as the ACting President and during the 2011 election, President Jonathan corrected some of the ills meted out to the Igbos by previous administrations, by appointing Igbos to various positions of power in his administration. However due to relentless criticism from the Yorubas and Hausa-Fulani oligarchs,

President Jonathan appears to be reversing himself and using every little opportunity to sack Igbo appointees in his administration. Tuesday sacked the heads of four aviation parastatals in the country. In past year prominent Igbos sons and daughters such as Festus Odimegwu, Bath Nnaji, Rosemary Uzoma, Stella Oduah, have been sacked over trumped up charges. 

Today President Jonathan sacked the heads of agencies in the Ministry of Aviation. Those affected include Mr George Uriese of FAAN, Mr Fola Akinkuotu of NCAA, Engr. Nnamdi Udoh of NAMA and Mrs Chinyere Kalu of NCAT.

This was contained in statement issued  in Abuja, Tuesday by Mr. Sam Nwaobasi, Special Adviser on Media to Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

According to the statement, Engr. Saleh Dumona (Director Projects, FAAN) is to replace Mr. George Uriesi as Managing-Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

The statement further showed that Engr. Ibrahim Abdulsalam (General Manager, Procurements, NAMA) is to replace Engr. Nnamdi Udoh as Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) while Capt. Samuel Akinyele Caulcrick (Government Safety Inspector & ICAO Focal Point for Nigeria on line Aircraft Safety Information Systems, OASIS) is to replace Capt. (Mrs.) Chinyere Kalu as Rector of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT).

In the same vein, Capt. Muhktar Usman (Commissioner, Accident Investigation and Prevention Bureau, AIPB) is to replace Capt. Fola C. Akinkuotu as Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). However Usman’s appointment is subject to confirmation by the Senate.

In the meantime, Engr. Benedict Adeyileka is to act as DG, NCAA pending Usman’s confirmation by the Senate.
Dr. Engr. Felix A. Abali (Director Licencing, NCAA) has also been appointed  to replace Capt. Usman as Commissioner,  Accident Investigation and Prevention Bureau (AIPB).

However, Dr. Tony Anuforo retains his position as Director-General of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET).

It would be recalled that President Jonathan had barely three weeks ago sacked the former Minister of Aviation Princess Stella Oduah following her indictment over allegations that she used public funds to purchase two bullet-proof BMW cars at an inflated cost of N255 million. The House of Representatives which probed the scandal had also discovered that some of the Heads of parastatals under the ministry were also involved in the scandal.

Published on 04/03/2014 17:57 Greenwich Mean Time