N7.9bn ‘fraud’: Ignore my critics, Stella Oduah tells Tinubu

Senator Representing Anambra North, Stella Adaeze Oduah, has asked President Bola Tinubu to ignore some critics who accused her of of attempting to scuttle a case the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) filed against her.

A group, Today’s Anti-Corruption Network (TACN) had asked Tinubu to intervene to prevent an alleged plot to derail the arraignment of Oduah by the EFCC over the N7.9 billion alleged fraud brought against her.

The group in a statement signed by its Director of Programme, Engr Olufemi Austin, alleged that those behind the plot were aiming for a plea bargain.

But responding in a statement which Ezennia Nonso Chukwudebe, her media aide, issued on her behalf, Oduah said the group had complete ignorance of court processes and the clear-cut distinction between the various arms of government.

She enjoined the President to ignore the petition, which “amounts to blackmail on his person and integrity”.

“Our attention has just been drawn to a spurious, mischievous, and desperate series of sponsored diatribes on various social media platforms by political detractors of the Distinguished Senator Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah OON, masquerading under a self-styled group named “Today’s Anti-Corruption Network, TACN.”

“An informed perusal of the said petition written by these charlatans immediately reveals not only a desperate need to distract the general public from the pending litigation that arose as a result of the just concluded general elections but also a complete ignorance of court processes and the clear cut distinction between the various arms of government.

“The introspective may want to ask whether His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu now combines his executive office with that of the Chief Justice of the Federation because it is glaring that their petition purely imagines Mr. President as a despot and autocrat who interferes in issues not within the purview of his office.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the constitution of our land provides a clear-cut distinction between the various arms of government. It is quite unfortunate that the petitioners, in their haste to do this yeoman’s job, have let out a Freudian slip by imagining that we have a president who thinks like them in terms of being meddlesome.

“The tone of the petition amounts to blackmail on the person and integrity of Mr. President, and, sadly, those behind it are yet to wean themselves of their blackmailing ways as it is common knowledge that no one is spared or sacred whenever they set out to unleash such terrible behavior.

“Again, we are at a loss to understand and situate their attacks on the judiciary. We can only opine that it takes a highly unschooled and illiterate mentality to imagine that the Judiciary is at the mercy of Mr. President.

“As you well know, the Judiciary remains the last and final hope for every Nigerian, and it is fashioned in such a way as to deliver Justice, Equality & Equity.

“Therefore, for her political opponents, who should rather expend the energy they currently dissipate to confronting the issues before the tribunal, to be busy sponsoring such faceless groups whose stock in trade is casting unwarranted and unfortunate aspersions on this great institution, is, to put it bluntly, the height of insensitivity and callousness.

“The general public is advised to see this recent media attack for what it really is: a recurrent penchant for attacking an exceptional legislator in the failed hopes that it would elicit public opprobrium and distract her from the real issues at hand.

“As we said earlier, we know those behind these latest attacks and are used to such intermittent tantrums, which are merely tales told by desperate minds; that are full of sound and fury but signifying absolutely nothing,” read a statement issued on Oduah’s behalf.