The federal government led by President Bola Tinubu was chastised by the Peoples Democratic Party and the Labour Party on Monday for acquiring a new $100 million presidential plane without the National Assembly’s consent.
The government’s decision was deemed callous by PDP Deputy National Publicity Secretary Ibrahim Abdullahi and Deputy Youth Leader Timothy Osadolor, given that the majority of Nigerians are experiencing hardship and food insecurity.
Similarly, Yunusa Tanko, the spokesperson for the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, expressed concern that, in light of the nation’s economic difficulties, the President would put his convenience ahead of the welfare of the majority of Nigerians.
President Tinubu departed on a work-related trip to France on Monday, travelling in a recently purchased Airbus A330 business aircraft.
The Nigerian Air Force is now the owner of the aircraft’s registration.
Usually employed as a twin-aisle passenger plane, this type was acquired for $100 million last month.
The public was given a preview of the newest member of the presidential fleet when Special Advisor to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, posted pictures of the presidential jet on his verified X handle.
The pictures, which displayed the jet’s contemporary features, attracted notice right away.
Onanuga claims that this new aircraft takes the place of the earlier Boeing B737-700(BBJ), which was acquired under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and had been in use for 19 years.
The modernisation of the presidential fleet is significantly advanced by this update.
In an interview with The PUNCH, the LP spokesman bemoaned the President’s purchase of a luxurious jet in a nation where the majority of people still lived in abject poverty.
“We thank God that the Freedom of Information Act grants the right to access certain information, whether by writing or by making a direct request,” Tanko stated. Therefore, in addition to the constitutional need that the government be open and answerable to the people, every Nigerian has a right to know.
“The public are not holding this particular government accountable for the numerous dodgy dealings that they are engaging in. The acquisition of the aircraft is merely the beginning. Indeed, we have heard that the President purportedly purchased a brand-new vehicle for himself.
It is obvious that they are only thinking about themselves at Nigerians’ expense. Under normal circumstances, the National Assembly would have been aware of it and made the decision to approve or disapprove. The predicament we find ourselves in this nation is awful.
Therefore, when the country’s citizens are living in abject poverty, this government needs to be transparent and inform the people of Nigeria where it acquired the $100 million for an Airbus. Nothing but sympathy and compassion for the individuals. Can you believe that we paid N970 a litre at the pump to purchase fuel for use today?
Speaking with the media as well, PDP Deputy Publicity Secretary Abdullahi said that the APC-led Federal Government’s lack of sincerity was demonstrated by the presidential aircraft purchase, which was undertaken while Nigerians were suffering from starvation and other hardships.
This demonstrates the government’s lack of sincerity and misguided priorities, which were evident even prior to its election to office. They have made the decision to start white elephant and goose-chasing initiatives that are not beneficial to the country.
“The incompetent APC government has remained deaf to the pleas of Nigerians despite the hardship in the country and the ongoing economic crisis, yet they proceeded to purchase another aircraft for a fleet that already includes no fewer than nine presidential aircraft.”
This serves as another more evidence of the government’s insensitivity and its encouragement of godlessness at the expense of the people it was sworn to defend. We are urging on Nigerians to assess the situation as we observe, because we are troubled. It will be regrettable for this country moving forward if we do not unite to handle the crisis, Abdullahi stated.
In a similar vein, the PDP National Deputy Youth Leader criticised the administration.
“This demonstrates how insensitive the Tinubu government is,” stated Osadolor. It is really troubling that a man who has held the positions of senator and governor in addition to president, can act with impunity while the people of Nigeria are facing hardships and economic issues. In my opinion, it goes against the constitutional guidelines for such activities in addition to exhibiting insensitivity.
The mood of the country and the status of the economy would have been taken into account by the President and his entourage if they had been sensitive before making such frivolous and unethical expenditures and actions.
On Monday, President Tinubu and a few of his top aides boarded a brand-new Airbus A330 corporate jet and took off from Abuja for France.
At 4:08 PM, the aircraft departed from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
After a nearly five-hour journey from EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg in France, the new aircraft landed in Abuja at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, according to persons with knowledge of the President’s trip that were contacted earlier on Monday.
A White House official who wished to remain anonymous stated, “The President will be using the plane to travel to France today. It arrived yesterday.”
Ajuri Ngelale, Tinubu’s spokesperson, released a statement on Sunday night announcing that the President would leave Abuja, the capital of the country, on Monday, August 19, for his fourth visit to the European nation.
The Presidency announced that “The President will return to the country after his brief work stay in France,” but it did not specify the reason for or length of Mr. Tinubu’s visit.
The Chinese company mentioned the planned meeting between President Tinubu and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, in stating that it was a goodwill gesture.
Zhongshan claimed to have provided the equipment for usage after realising how crucial the aircraft was to this diplomatic effort.
Weeks before President Tinubu was supposed to attend the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which was to take place in Beijing, China, from September 3–8, 2024, there was a disagreement.
The Federal Republic of Nigerian President’s seal was purportedly seen on the new aircraft’s tail livery when it was apparently spotted in Germany in July.
Estimated to be worth $100 million (N150 billion), the vehicle has a meeting and dining area, a bedroom, office space, and will travel for the first time with the President on board on Monday.
This is Tinubu’s 23rd overseas visit since taking office approximately 15 months ago.
Additional criticism of the President
A few former Senate principal officers also disapproved of the presidential jet purchase from the Service Wide Vote.
The secrecy surrounding the Service Wide Votes was questioned by the former parliamentarians.
The presidential jet issue entered the public eye when the House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence decided to purchase new planes for the president and vice president since the current ones were unsafe to fly and had malfunctions.
Though he denied that the Red Chamber had approved the acquisition of the presidential jet, Senate President Godswill Akpabio stated that the parliamentarians would not hesitate to support the request if the President made it.
“We care about the President and we care about the Nigerian people,” stated Akpabio. Things that will help the Nigerian people will be approved by us.
“We will support initiatives that raise people’s standards of living. We shall also be mindful of the President’s responsibilities at the same time.
“We will fix the vehicle if it is defective. We will grant funds for the plane’s repair if it is defective. Thus, it is not a problem. Nothing is in front of us. I don’t believe you need to be concerned about it.
Earlier, in response to Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi’s criticism of the proposal as inappropriate and insensitive, the Presidency had defended the need to purchase new presidential aircraft.
The Presidency called Obi’s remark inappropriate and questioned whether he would rather that the President’s life be in danger due to malfunctioning aircraft.
Does Obama want Tinubu to carry on travelling in a dilapidated jet and pass away like the president of Iran and the vice president of Malawi? Allow him to explain. Any rational government would take this fundamental action. Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga stated, “You can’t play around with your President’s welfare.”
While Nigerians were waiting for the president to request budgetary approval for the jet, knowledge of the acquisition leaked out when Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Company Limited, a Chinese company, obtained a judgement from a French court seizing the new aircraft.
A former Minority leader responded to the news of the new aircraft by saying it was a bad idea.
“The Service Wide votes have become slush money; there is no description as to what you can do with the money,” the legislator declared. For us, it wasn’t appropriate in that sense. This implies that the money would be used at the discretion of the recipient, and in Nigeria, discretion is defined as the ability to just pocket the entire amount.
Some of us felt that it wasn’t appropriate for us to conduct the voting in this manner, but as you can see, lawmakers’ options are limited since they are part of the legislature; they are only able to give suggestions.
“The issue with all of them in the Senate is that you are powerless to change anything; it’s akin to a state of emergency and is detrimental to our nation.
“We wouldn’t have a problem if they just kept a small amount, but they keep such a large amount. You can imagine the amount of money in the votes if the President decides to purchase a jet for roughly $50 million.”
Additionally, a different former lawmaker merely denounced the President for making such purchases without appropriation, saying he wouldn’t be willing to talk much about the matter.
“Such an item requires appropriation; it’s not an item that should be purchased without appropriation,” the lawmaker stated.
In a same vein, a few civil society organisations chastised the federal government for buying a presidential jet with the Service Wide Votes.
The National Assembly should be forewarned since they cannot claim ignorance of the process, said Debo Adeniran, Chairman of the Centre for Accountability and Open Leadership, in response. For what length of time will we carry on operating a democracy that is dependent on the opulent ambitions of those in power? That does not reflect well on our nation or our democracy.
The lack of popular confidence in the National Assembly was also mentioned by Auwal Ibrahim Rafsanjani, Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative and Advocacy Centre, who pointed out that the legislature was loyal to the President.
“As far as the National Assembly is concerned, they have been singing that they stand on the President’s mandate and that they are loyal to him,” he stated. You can’t expect any of these crucial national problems to be discussed before it is enacted if the National Assembly is unable to checkmate, or at least voice opposing views, without suffering the same fate as at least two of the ranking senators.
