Early lifeProfile record
Born
Stella Adaeze Oduah was born on 5 Jan 1962.
Former office
Stella Adaeze Oduah
Senator for Anambra North Senatorial District, Anambra State
9 Jun 2015 – 13 Jun 2023
THE PERSON- Senatorial district
- Anambra North
- State
- Anambra
- Country
- Nigeria
Current party · membership recordPeoples Democratic PartyPDPHow to reach
Each line shows where it comes from. A listed contact is not proof it is answered or current.
- Office address
- Not yet on record
- Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national secretariat: Wadata Plaza, Plot 1970 Michael Okpara Street, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja. This is the party’s office, not this person’s.Suggest one
Public life, in context
The record
over time.
Stella Adaeze Oduah (born 5 January 1962) is the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate for Anambra North Senatorial District in the Senate election of 16 January 2027 (INEC final list, 12 September 2026), seeking to return to a seat she held from 2015 to 2023. From Ogbaru LGA, she declared a First School Leaving Certificate, a West African School Certificate (1978) and a BSc in Business Administration from St.…
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Stella Adaeze Oduah (born 5 January 1962) is the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate for Anambra North Senatorial District in the Senate election of 16 January 2027 (INEC final list, 12 September 2026), seeking to return to a seat she held from 2015 to 2023. From Ogbaru LGA, she declared a First School Leaving Certificate, a West African School Certificate (1978) and a BSc in Business Administration from St. Paul's College, Lawrenceville, Virginia (1982). She worked at the NNPC from 1983 and in 1992 founded Sea Petroleum and Gas Company, an oil marketing and shipping business. She was Minister of Aviation under President Goodluck Jonathan from 2 July 2011 to 12 February 2014. In October 2013 it emerged that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority had paid about N255 million for two armoured BMW cars for her use; a presidential panel and the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation probed the purchase, and the House committee recommended that her appointment be reviewed. She said the procurement followed due process and that the cars were leased, not bought. She left the cabinet on 12 February 2014, officially by resignation. Elected senator for Anambra North on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket in March 2015 (143,478 votes) and re-elected in February 2019 (113,989), she was deputy chair of the Senate Committee on Police Affairs from November 2015 and chair of the Committee on Cooperation and Integration from September 2017, and chaired the ECOWAS Female Parliamentarians Association. She withdrew from the PDP's 2017 Anambra governorship primary. She moved between parties several times: to APGA on 6 June 2018 and back to the PDP on 21 September 2018; to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on 26 August 2021 and back to the PDP on 28 April 2022. As the PDP candidate she lost the 25 February 2023 election to Tony Nwoye of the Labour Party (94,779 votes to 50,146), and her petition was dismissed on 6 September 2023. In April 2024 she said she had recently joined the APC; by 2026 she was in APGA, and she won its Anambra North primary on 23 May 2026 with 22,076 votes, ahead of Primus Odili. She has faced corruption allegations, all of which she denies. The EFCC filed money-laundering charges against her, aides, CCECC Nigeria and several companies on 17 December 2020 (about N5 billion in aviation ministry funds); she pleaded not guilty on 21 July 2023, and the status of that case after December 2025 is unclear. A separate N2.5 billion fraud charge by the Attorney-General was struck out and she was discharged on 26 March 2026, after a plea-bargain settlement in which the government confirmed receipt of the money and two companies were convicted. She was not convicted. The NYSC said in May 2022 that she absconded from national service in 1982; she says she served. Courts dismissed challenges to her candidacy in 2019, 2022 and 2026, the last on 18 September 2026.
01 → 02 → 03
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A life in the public record.
26 linked entries · 32 distinct source links
Review dates are separate from event dates.
26 entries · Whole record
1962
IN THE PUBLIC RECORD1978
IN THE PUBLIC RECORDEducation & qualificationsReviewed record
Zixon Secondary School, Ozubulu
West African School Certificate
- Location
- Ozubulu, Anambra State
- Institution
- Secondary
Graduation stated in the linked record. This does not by itself authenticate an original certificate.
1982
IN THE PUBLIC RECORDEducation & qualificationsReviewed record
St. Paul's College, Lawrenceville, Virginia, USA
BSc Business Administration · Business Administration
- Location
- Lawrenceville, Virginia, United States
- Institution
- University
Graduation stated in the linked record. This does not by itself authenticate an original certificate.
1983
IN THE PUBLIC RECORDWorking lifeReviewed record
Staff (sales)
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)
- Industry
- Oil and gas
- Employment
- Employee
Joined NNPC as a sales clerk in 1983 and left in 1992, per her Who's Who entry; she says she worked at NNPC for nine years after national service in 1982.
1992
IN THE PUBLIC RECORDWorking lifeReviewed record
Founder and Managing Director/CEO
Sea Petroleum and Gas Company Limited
- Industry
- Oil and gas (petroleum products marketing and shipping)
- Employment
- Founder
Founded the company in 1992 after leaving NNPC. Sterling Bank obtained a 22 February 2017 freezing order and a 22 January 2019 judgment over a vessel loan she personally guaranteed; AMCON obtained an order to take over the company and affiliates on 18 May 2018 (see legal records). Affiliated firms named in court papers: Sea Shipping Agency, Rotary Engineering Services and Tour…
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Founded the company in 1992 after leaving NNPC. Sterling Bank obtained a 22 February 2017 freezing order and a 22 January 2019 judgment over a vessel loan she personally guaranteed; AMCON obtained an order to take over the company and affiliates on 18 May 2018 (see legal records). Affiliated firms named in court papers: Sea Shipping Agency, Rotary Engineering Services and Tour Afrique.
2011
IN THE PUBLIC RECORDAppointedReviewed record
Minister
Nigeria
- Status
- Ended
- Party on this record
- PDP
Reason recorded for departure: Resigned.
2015
IN THE PUBLIC RECORDParty primaryReviewed record
2015 Senate primary
Peoples Democratic Party · Anambra North · Anambra
- Primary result
- Won
- What this establishes
- A party-stage result, not election to public office
- Votes
- 259
- Recorded winner
- Stella Oduah (PDP)
Won the PDP Anambra North primary with 259 votes to 8 for the serving senator Margery Okadigbo (Daily Trust, 8 December 2014; primary held in the days before; exact day not stated). The Anambra PDP was split into two factions that held separate primaries; INEC accepted the Akobundo faction's list, which carried her name (see the 2016 Supreme Court legal record).
Election participationReviewed record
2015 Senate election
Peoples Democratic Party · Anambra North · Anambra
- Result
- Won
- Votes
- 143,478
- Recorded winner
- Stella Oduah (PDP)
Declared winner by INEC returning officer Dr Celestine Okaro: PDP 143,478, APGA (Chief Dubem Obaze) 70,906 (Daily Post, 30 March 2015). The seven LGA figures in the same report add up to 141,632 for PDP, not 143,478; the declared total is stored. 28 March 2015 is the national poll day.
ElectedReviewed record
Senator
Anambra North · Anambra
Took office
Service ended
- Status
- Ended
- Party on this record
- PDP
Recorded periods in this office: 9 Jun 2015 – 11 Jun 2019 (PDP); 11 Jun 2019 – 13 Jun 2023 (PDP).
Committee & oversightReviewed record
Committee on Police Affairs
Deputy · Senate
The end of this committee role is not recorded.
2016
IN THE PUBLIC RECORDWorking lifeReviewed record
Chairperson
ECOWAS Female Parliamentarians Association (ECOFEPA)
- Industry
- Regional parliament (ECOWAS)
Chairperson of the ECOWAS Parliament's female parliamentarians' network; at a December 2017 town hall members called on her to resign over continued absence. Start year 2016 is from a Vanguard headline (26 May 2016) not read in full; end not found.
2017
IN THE PUBLIC RECORDParty primaryReviewed record
2017 Governorship primary
Peoples Democratic Party · Anambra
- Primary result
- Withdrawn
- What this establishes
- A party-stage result, not election to public office
PDP governorship aspirant for the November 2017 Anambra election (screened in August 2017). She withdrew from the primary on Monday 28 August 2017, saying delegates had been imposed and the three-man ad-hoc delegate process was 'chaotic'; she had petitioned the caretaker chairman Ahmed Makarfi over the delegates' list. Winner and vote figures not stored (not read from a…
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PDP governorship aspirant for the November 2017 Anambra election (screened in August 2017). She withdrew from the primary on Monday 28 August 2017, saying delegates had been imposed and the three-man ad-hoc delegate process was 'chaotic'; she had petitioned the caretaker chairman Ahmed Makarfi over the delegates' list. Winner and vote figures not stored (not read from a source).
Committee & oversightReviewed record
Committee on Cooperation and Integration
Chair · Senate
The end of this committee role is not recorded.
2018
IN THE PUBLIC RECORDParty membershipReviewed record
All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)
Received at the APGA national secretariat in Abuja on Wednesday 6 June 2018 by national chairman Victor Oye and others, declaring for the Anambra North Senate seat under APGA. Returned to the PDP on Friday 21 September 2018, saying APGA's ideology was 'a mirage' and internal democracy was not practised; APGA's Ogbaru chapter said she should be treated 'as though she never joined'.
Party membershipReviewed record
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
Rejoined the PDP on 21 September 2018 and was re-elected senator on its ticket in February 2019. Left for the APC on 26 August 2021.
2019
IN THE PUBLIC RECORDElection participationReviewed record
2019 Senate election
Peoples Democratic Party · Anambra North · Anambra
- Result
- Won
- Votes
- 113,989
- Recorded winner
- Stella Oduah (PDP)
Re-elected at the poll of 23 February 2019; declared on Monday 25 February 2019 in Onitsha by returning officer Prof. Hugh Maduka: 113,989 votes; APGA candidate (Dr Chinedu Emeka, a former deputy governor) 59,937; APC (Nelson Onubogu) 11,995; 21 candidates in all. The APGA candidate's petition was dismissed on 5 September 2019 (see legal records). Her 2019 PDP primary (late…
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Re-elected at the poll of 23 February 2019; declared on Monday 25 February 2019 in Onitsha by returning officer Prof. Hugh Maduka: 113,989 votes; APGA candidate (Dr Chinedu Emeka, a former deputy governor) 59,937; APC (Nelson Onubogu) 11,995; 21 candidates in all. The APGA candidate's petition was dismissed on 5 September 2019 (see legal records). Her 2019 PDP primary (late 2018) was not found; a PDP chieftain, Kingsley Nnalue, was reported to have come second in it.
2021
IN THE PUBLIC RECORDParty membershipReviewed record
All Progressives Congress (APC)
Received into the APC in Abuja on Thursday 26 August 2021 by caretaker chairman Mai Mala Buni, ahead of the November 2021 Anambra governorship election, while facing an EFCC money-laundering charge. Announced her return to the PDP on Thursday 28 April 2022; the factional Anambra APC said she had never been a member.
2022
IN THE PUBLIC RECORDParty membershipReviewed record
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
Returned to the PDP on 28 April 2022 ('back to her family'), won its Anambra North ticket on 27 May 2022 and lost the February 2023 election as its candidate. By April 2024 she said she had 'joined the APC recently'; the day she left the PDP was not found, so no end date is stored.
Current affiliation in the reviewed membership record.
Party primaryReviewed record
2023 Senate primary
Peoples Democratic Party · Anambra North · Anambra
- Primary result
- Won
- What this establishes
- A party-stage result, not election to public office
- Votes
- 278
- Recorded winner
- Stella Oduah (PDP)
Won the PDP Anambra North primary in Awka with 278 votes; Tony Nwoye was credited with 1 vote and Chinedu Emeka with none (both had earlier withdrawn, citing hijack of the process; Daily Post, 27 May 2022). A suit by aspirant John Emeka against her candidacy was dismissed as statute-barred on 22 November 2022.
2023
IN THE PUBLIC RECORDElection participationReviewed record
2023 Senate election
Peoples Democratic Party · Anambra North · Anambra
- Result
- Lost
- Votes
- 50,146
- Recorded winner
- Tony Nwoye (LP), 94,779 votes
Lost her bid for a third term: Tony Nwoye (LP) 94,779, Oduah (PDP) 50,146 (INEC figures as reported by Premium Times). Her and the PDP's consolidated petition was dismissed by the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, Awka, on Wednesday 6 September 2023; any appeal outcome was not read.
2026
IN THE PUBLIC RECORDParty primaryReviewed record
2027 Senate primary
All Progressives Grand Alliance · Anambra North · Anambra
- Primary result
- Won
- What this establishes
- A party-stage result, not election to public office
- Recorded winner
- Stella Adaeze Oduah
constituency: Anambra North Senatorial District · also listed as: Oduah Stella Adaeze, Stella Oduah · INEC final list of candidates (Senate), published 2026-09-12 — SN 6, p.13; INEC name: ODUAH STELLA ADAEZE; age 64; female; qualification (as declared to INEC): FSLC WASC B.Sc BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION · Primary: APGA Anambra North primary held on Saturday 23 May 2026 across the…
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constituency: Anambra North Senatorial District · also listed as: Oduah Stella Adaeze, Stella Oduah · INEC final list of candidates (Senate), published 2026-09-12 — SN 6, p.13; INEC name: ODUAH STELLA ADAEZE; age 64; female; qualification (as declared to INEC): FSLC WASC B.Sc BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION · Primary: APGA Anambra North primary held on Saturday 23 May 2026 across the district's 99 wards; on Monday 25 May 2026 APGA's National Publicity Secretary, Ejimofor Opara, declared her the winner with 22,076 votes. Per-LGA figures published by APGA (Punch) give Primus Odili (former chief of staff to ex-governor Willie Obiano) 19,847, Sir John 7,570 and Dr Alex Obiogbolu 6,945 (totals summed here from the seven LGA lines); 10,119 of her votes came from Ogbaru. APGA said computations circulated by some aspirants were 'not authentic' and told aggrieved aspirants to use internal dispute mechanisms. APGA submitted her name to INEC on 7 July 2026; a suit by APGA aspirant John Okechukwu Emeka to disqualify her (NYSC/certificate claims) was dismissed on 18 September 2026 (Federal High Court, Abuja, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik).
Dates not recorded
KEPT OUTSIDE THE DATED CHRONOLOGYParty membershipReviewed record
All Progressives Congress (APC)
In April 2024 she told the Igbo business community in Abuja that she had 'joined the APC recently' because of Governor Hope Uzodimma's appointment as the party's South-East coordinator. Joining and leaving days not found; by March-April 2026 she was organising within APGA.
An end date is not recorded for this membership.
Party membershipReviewed record
All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)
APGA candidate for Anambra North on INEC's final list (12 September 2026); won the APGA primary of 23 May 2026. Reported in March 2026 to be planning to run on APGA and addressing APGA members ahead of its primaries on 1 April 2026; the day she (re)joined APGA was not found.
An end date is not recorded for this membership.
Honours & recognitionReviewed record
Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON)
Her media office styles her 'Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah OON' (June 2023). Year of conferment not found.
- Awarded by
- Federal Republic of Nigeria
- Category
- National honour
An award records recognition; it is not an independent measure of performance.
Party membershipReviewed record
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
PDP member by the time of her ministerial appointment (2011, Jonathan administration; joining date not found); won the PDP Anambra North Senate ticket in December 2014 and the seat in 2015; PDP governorship aspirant in 2017. Left for APGA on 6 June 2018.
Education & qualificationsReviewed record
St. John (school), Odoakpu, Onitsha
First School Leaving Certificate
- Location
- Onitsha, Anambra State
- Institution
- Primary
Graduation stated in the linked record. This does not by itself authenticate an original certificate.
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