From Federal Ministry of Aviation.
The Federal Ministry of Aviation’s spokesman, Mr. Hastings Ojeme has refuted a story on page 30 of 5th May’ publication of Thisday Newspapers that the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr. Jamila Shu’ara was sitting on the funds earmarked for completion of airports’ remodeling projects as untrue.
The Statement read as follows: “My attention has been drawn to a story with the title above and credited to Chinedu Eze, a Lagos-based Aviation correspondent alleging that contractors handling the remodeling of terminal projects at various airports in the country have pulled out of site due to lack of funds. The story further alleged that the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Aviation, Dr. Jamila Shu’ara was sitting on the funds earmarked for completion of projects. The story also alleged that Dr. Shu’ara redeployed all the Directors who were monitoring the projects for the Ministry while projects being built in Akure, Ibadan, Asaba, Enugu and Jos have been questioned and regarded as no priority ventures.”
Mr. Ojeme, an Assistant Director of Information and Head of the Aviation Ministry’s Press and Public Relations Unit, said: “I regret to say that Chinedu’s story as a journalist carries some much appeal of unprofessionalism and a total disregard for investigation.”
He said further that “The Permanent Secretary has not sat on any payment of contractors, questioned approved projects in any airport or transferred Directors who are on supervision.”
Mr. Ojeme’s refutation also said that “The Permanent Secretary, Dr. Jamila Shu’ara has a lot of respect for the media and would have at request, gladly granted interview to Chinedu Eze to clarify these unfounded allegations. The correspondent only spoke with the Special Adviser to the Permanent Secretary who is not the spokesperson of the Ministry. It is simply preposterous that the spokesperson of the Ministry was not contracted by the writer to at least present the Ministry’s reactions to these allegations.”
“It is a curious contradiction that the same writer stated at the end of his story that the Supervising Minister of Aviation, Dr. Ortom has promised that projects would be completed because their completion would improve the viability of the aviation sector.”
Ojeme also stated that “The Supervising Minister, Dr. Ortom and the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Shu’ara are not working at cross-purposes. Consequently, one could not have promised completion of projects while the other sits on the funds. The two are certainly working harmoniously to achieve the strategic objectives of the transformation agenda of Mr. President on the Aviation sector and the fear expressed in the story that the former Minister’s projects may face completion problems remains unfounded and unjustifiable.
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