According to this report by the PUNCH Newspaper: Since
inception, President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration has been accused of
impunity, usually caused by decisions and actions of the President, including
those of his ministers and close associates.
The women
in Jonathan’s cabinet have carried out most of the glaring cases of abuse of
power including reckless spending of taxpayers’ money. These women have proven
to be more powerful than the number one citizen of Nigeria because despite
public outcries that greet some of their decisions, they go scot-free.
Those who
fall in this seemingly untouchable category are the First Lady, Mrs. Patience
Jonathan; the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance,
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani
Alison-Madueke; the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission,
Ms. Arunma Oteh; and the Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah.
These
powerful women have some things in common. They are all from the South-East and
South-South geopolitical zones. Four of them had their higher education in the
United States and two of them are daughters of traditional rulers. Needless to
say they occupy some of the most strategic and ‘lucrative’ positions in the
Federal Government.
PATIENCE
JONATHAN
In
Nigeria’s history, Patience Jonathan is believed to be the most powerful First
Lady in terms of the amount of influence she has over her husband and his
cabinet.
Mrs.
Jonathan first gave a glimpse into the enormous power she wields in 2011 when
she traversed the country, campaigning for her husband in a way that irked many
Nigerians.
Several
calls by individuals and groups to the President to restrain his wife yielded
no result.
Also, in
June this year, in apparent violation of the electoral act, Mrs. Jonathan
reportedly started campaigning for her husband ahead of the 2015 elections.
Another
show of impunity by the President’s wife is the way she cripples any town or
city she visits with her long motorcade, including bulletproof limousines and
scores of armed policemen.
She
grounded Lagos in 2012 when she visited to say “thank you” to some women groups
for their support in electing her husband.
Despite
the protest by several Nigerians, who felt that their right to move freely in
their country was violated by the movement of an unelected individual, the
President’s wife was never cautioned, at least not publicly.
Instead,
the Presidency rose to her defence, giving her the liberty to do more in other
cities. Her visits and grounding of traffic in Port Harcourt and Warri were
also greeted with wide condemnations.
To show
how powerful she is, Mrs. Jonathan publicly admitted making attempts to dictate
to the Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, a move that largely
precipitated the ongoing political crisis in the state.
In Aso
Rock, where she resides with her husband, the fear of Mrs. Jonathan is the
beginning of wisdom as she leaves no one in doubt that she is in charge. There
is always a retinue of favour seekers waiting to see her daily.
Mrs.
Jonathan, a native of Bayelsa State, was born in Port Harcourt on October 25,
1957 and holds National Certificate of Education in Mathematics and Biology
from the Rivers State College of Arts and Science, and a Bachelor of Education
degree in biology and psychology from the University of Port Harcourt.
NGOZI
OKONJO-IWEALA
Right from
when the negotiation to bring her from the World Bank started, it was obvious
that Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was bound to wield so much power in Jonathan’s
government.
With her
position as the coordinating minister for the economy (a new position created
for her) and Finance Minister, Okonjo-Iweala, who is currently 83rd on Forbes’
global list of powerful women, calls the shots as far as Nigeria’s economy is
concerned.
While
doing that, she has called the bluff of many including state governors and the
National Assembly without any consequence.
The state
governors, who have complained about the shabby way the minister treat them,
have called for her removal while the Academic Staff Union of Universities has
called her a ‘dictator.’ But no matter the protest, Okonjo-Iweala remains a
darling of the President.
The
sacking of Mr. Shuaib Yushau as the Head, Media and Information Unit of the
National Emergency Management Agency, after he wrote what was considered a
critical article against Okonjo-Iweala, further showed that the minister was
not to be messed with.
The
article entitled ‘Still on Okonjo-Iweala over Controversial Appointments’,
published on March 6, called on the minister “to ensure that appointments into
important positions should be done in credible and transparent manner that can
withstand public scrutiny.”
Similarly,
Mr. Lawrence Ani, was reportedly suspended indefinitely from his job as
Saturday Editor of Thisday Newspaper for publishing a story that cited data
that indicated a drop in Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product under Okonjo-Iweala’s
watch.
In 2011,
against the opinion of the majority of Nigerians, Okonjo-Iweala and the
Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, insisted on the
removal of fuel subsidy, and literally ordered it on the outset of 2012,
resulting in the Occupy Nigeria protest.
Okonjo-Iweala,
who also served as finance minister and foreign minister under President
Olusegun Obansanjo and as a Managing Director at the World Bank, was born on
June 13, 1954 to Professor Chukuka Okonjo, who is the Obi (traditional ruler)
of Ogwashi-Uku.
She
graduated from Harvard University in 1977, and earned her Ph.D. in regional
economic development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1981.
She is
married to Ikemba Iweala from Abia State.
DIEZANI
ALISON-MADUEKE
Virtually
all sections of the Nigerian society have called for the resignation of the
Petroleum Resources Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, all to no avail.
Most of
those who sought her removal had cited several allegations of corrupt practices
under her watch as reasons for their demand.
After the
revelation of massive fraud in the fuel subsidy administration to the tune of
N1.7trn, many had thought that heads would roll, including that of
Alison-Madueke, who supervised the rot.
Some heads
did roll, but not that of the queen of the Nigeria oil and gas industry.
Till date,
the Presidency has not queried or probed Diezani over allegations against her
and the indictment of departments under her by several panels, including those
headed by Nuhu Ribadu, Farouk Lawan, and Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede as well as the
Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative.
Diezani
has also not explained to Nigeria, whom she was appointed to serve, what role
she played in the massive corruption that led to the loss of huge amounts of
public fund.
Apart from
the demands for the Alison-Madueke’s resignation and prosecution by civil
society groups, who led the Occupy Nigeria protest, the House of
Representatives also demanded her removal as minister.
Despite
this, the President did not suspend her, and gave no explanation for that. This
shows how powerful she is.
Alison-Madueke
is the first woman to hold the position of Minister of Petroleum Resources in
Nigeria, and in October 2010 she became the first woman to head a country’s
delegation at the annual OPEC conference.
She was
also the first female Minister of Transportation, and the first woman to be
appointed to the board of Shell Petroleum Development Company Nigeria.
Alison-Madueke
was born on December 6, 1960 in Port Harcourt.
She
graduated from Howard University in 1992, with a Bachelor’s degree in
architecture and returned to Nigeria to join Shell Petroleum Development
Corporation.
About 10
years later, she earned an MBA from Cambridge University and was appointed as
the first female executive director of Shell Nigeria.
In 1999,
she got married to Admiral Alison Madueke (retd), one-time Chief of Naval Staff
who was at different times military governor of Imo and Anambra states.
STELLA
ODUAH
Not many
are aware of the tremendous power of the Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah, in
Jonathan’s government.
For her
role in Jonathan’s 2011 campaign, she was reportedly rewarded with a
ministerial appointment to the aviation ministry, even though she had no prior
training in the field of aviation.
Many
believe that the President feels indebted to her for her role as the Director
of Finance and Administration of the Jonathan/Sambo Campaign Organisation and
in the establishment of Neighbour-to-Neighbour outfit, which reportedly spent
billions of naira on adverts and media propaganda in favour of Jonathan, especially
while the Occupy Nigeria protest lasted.
Considering
this relationship with Jonathan, it should not be a surprise that Oduah’s
response to critics after the Dana and Associated Airlines crashes reeked of
arrogance.
The latest
revelation that she forced the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority to buy her
bulletproof vehicles has again elicited calls for her removal and prosecution
but considering the way the President has treated public outcries against these
powerful women, Oduah is likely to remain minister till the end of Jonathan’s
administration.
Princess
Stella Oduah was born on January 5, 1962 to Igwe D.O. Oduah of Akili-Ozizor in
Anambra State on January 5, 1962.
She got
her Bachelor’s degree in accounting and MBA from American universities.
Oduah
joined the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in 1983 and in 1992, she
established a petroleum products marketing company, Sea Petroleum & Gas
Company Limited.
She was
married to the former Minister for Works, Chris Ogiemwonyi.
ARUNMA
OTEH
Through
her battles, the Director-General of the Securities Exchange Commission, Ms.
Arunma Oteh, has sufficiently earned the name ‘Iron lady’ even beyond her
official sphere of influence.
When she
clashed with the House of Representatives Committee on the Capital Market, it
was the chairman of the committee, Mr. Herman Hembe, that got hurt.
The
committee had accused Oteh of fraud and misappropriation of funds. She fired
back, accusing Hembe of demanding bribe from SEC.
The SEC
board suspended Oteh in order to investigate the findings of the lawmakers, who
probed the capital market and indicted her. She immediately petitioned the
President and Okonjo-Iweala.
After two
months, the President returned Oteh to her position, following the auditor’s
report that said her offence amounted only to ‘administrative lapses.’ The
directors and staff of the commission, who had protested Oteh’s alleged
high-handedness, were advised to calm down and obey their boss.
On the
other hand, Hembe was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
and also stepped down as chairman of the committee.
The crisis
led to an intense battle between President Jonathan and the House of
Representatives. The House demanded the sacking of Oteh but Jonathan refused.
The
passage of the 2013 budget was delayed because of the fight. Eventually, the
lawmakers insisted on zero budget for SEC to force the President’s hand, but he
did not budge.
Calls for
her removal by civil society groups also fell on deaf ears.
Oteh, who is
an indigene of Abia State, is also a British citizen.
She graduated with first-class degree in computer sciences from
the University of Nigeria in Nsukka and earned her MBA from Harvard Business
School.
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