Oduah: We’re shocked – Kinsmen

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.