The
kinsfolk of embattled Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, have
said they are surprised at the groundswell of public opinion running
against their most prominent daughter.
The people of Akili-Ozizor in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anamba State told Saturday PUNCH that as far as they were concerned, the minister is the best thing that has happened to them.
They said she has not only regularly
empowered young people and widows, the minister has built schools and
churches for them. They listed some of the projects she has done for the
community to include the building of St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, the
rehabilitation of the Josephine Oduah Secondary School and the
provision of a borehole.
One of the chiefs, Boniface Osakwe, who is the Onya of Akili-Ozizor, told Saturday PUNCH
that Oduah’s philanthropy extends beyond the community to the entire
Ogbaru l Local Government Area, spanning all the towns located
along the lower bank of the River Niger in Anambra State.
Osakwe wondered why she was being persecuted in an office that she will leave one day.
“Is it because she is a woman? Other
people had been in that office. She will leave one day and another
person will occupy it,” Osakwe wondered.
The President General of Akili-Ozizor Town Union, Mr. Chukwudi Igwe, simply said Oduah “is a very good woman.”
He would not be dragged into commenting
on the raging car scandal circulating about the minister. “I don’t know
about that. All I know is that she has been helping our people,” he
added.
One young man from the community, Mr.
Chidozie Ogbaekwe, said he was surprised about the car scandal. “If they
bought the cars for her, she will use them now. Any problem with that?”
he asked.
Ogbaekwe who said many indigent members
of the community have benefited from scholarships from Oduah, however
pointed out that the woman was yet to fulfil the promise she made to him
about buying him a motorcycle.
“I am hoping that when she comes in December, she will give me my own motorcycle,” he said.
Oduah’s image looms large over the small
and rustic community located on the bank of the River Niger. From Uga
Junction, 30km away from Onitsha, where commercial motorcycles ferry
people to Akili-Ozizor and other towns in Ogbaru, all the visitors need
to tell the cyclists is take me to Stella’s House.
Her father, John Oduah, was the
traditional ruler of the community. Her mother was the Omu, a title and
office Stella has since inherited.
The only asphalt road veering off the
main road in the community leads to her expansive estate, which she
shares with the workers of her contracting company.
She is currently erecting a huge country home on about two hectares of land, not far from her older estate.
Last year, her entire home was submerged in the flood disaster that ravaged all the riverine communities in Anambra State.
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