Tuesday 1 April 2014

HOW STRUGGLE OVER JONATHAN CAUSED RIFT BETWEEN STELLA ODUAH AND DEZIANI ALLISON-MADUEKE







Ever before they came into  government, Stella Adah Oduah, the former Minister of Aviation and Deziani Allison- Madueke, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, were successful women in their different endeavours. 
They came from different backgrounds. One was happily married, while the other was having problems in her marriage. The problems were to later crystallize into separation. Even then, both had their own strengths. While one was directly related to President Goodluck Jonathan, through his second wife, the other proved to be an administrative colossus through the way she managed the President’s campaign finances. Thus, it didn't come as a surprise to most people, when President Jonathan decided to integrate the two women into his cabinet and they were both given juicy posts.
But sources who witnessed the happenings in Aso Rock, disclosed to The ELITES, that there was a fierce battle for the attention of the President 
between the two women. It was gathered that Oduah and Allison-Madueke were conscious of the fact that the man at the helm of affairs is at their whims, thus, they always tried to outwit each other in a bid to show loyalty. It was like the case of two women struggling for the heart of one man, trying as much as possible to outwit each other. Aso Rock sources confirmed that the two were hardly seen chatting or exchanging banters, even during the weekly Executive Council meeting. And should there be any reason for them to talk to each other, it was always brief and snappy. There was hardly a time that they found themselves under an atmosphere that was relaxing or or warm. 
Surely, Oduah and Allison-Madueke were not the best of friends. A couple of times when one had the opportunity of shooting down the other’s ideas, they did not spare each other. In spite of the veiled animosity between them, the two women were reported to have tried to keep the whole thing under wraps, so as not to allow other people to feast on it.
The ELITES gathered that when  Stella Oduah started having problems over the issue of bullet proof cars, she was convinced that Deziani Allison-Madueke had a hand in it. And tried as hard as some aides did to persuade her to disregard her conviction, Oduah refused to shift her train of persuasion. Apparently, some aides, who were eager to play upon Oduah's conviction, ended up fueling this.
From then, Oduah saw Allison-Madueke as her enemy. It was, thus, easy for her to conclude that Allison-Madueke wanted her out of the cabinet, because she believed she was responsible for fueling the anti-Oduah campaign, despite the enormous resources she expended on quelling the scandals.
Eventually, the President had to  sacrifice Stella Oduah, and she was not happy about this. It was gathered that Oduah felt deflated that she was sacked, after all she was not the only one who had broken the laws.  

However, sources within the Aviation Ministry revealed that Oduah's sack was a mere facade, because she still pulls the strings and decides who gets what. Yet, she is reported not to be satisfied with this.
The ELITES gathered that Oduah is still in control of the ministry, indirectly. She was said to have singlehandedly picked the new heads of parastatals who were recently appointed in the ministry. After their appointments, Oduah called the new heads to a meeting in her house, and informed them that nothing had changed, and that she was still in control.
And since she saw the hands of her number one rival in the uproar that led to her removal, Oduah is reportedly bent on taking her pound of flesh. Close sources disclosed to The ELITES that the pieces of information that have been passed to some quarters, bordering on the hiring of private jets by Allison-Madueke, have been traced to her estranged former colleague in the cabinet. It was gathered that Oduah is also planning on compiling more damning information on Allison-Madueke all in a bid to ensure that she is also sacked. 
 According to sources, even though some of these facts are true, it is only insiders in the Aviation sector, who are privy to some of the details and documents that can easily reveal them the way they are being churned out.
As it stands, the Nigerian media as well as the masses are the better for it, because they are the ones enjoying the scoops being reeled out on a daily basis, as a result of the fight over who should be closer to the President between the two women. But the President, whose heart they are both fighting for, is not enjoying the mudslinging at all.

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