Victor Ezeja
The Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate in 2023 election, Peter Obi, has asked the Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government to disclose all relevant information regarding the new presidential jet, including its age and cost.
In a post on his verified X handle, Obi added that Nigerians also deserve to know about the age and cost of the two old jets being disposed.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelHe emphasised that “transparency and accountability should be the hallmark of any genuine leadership.”
He said: “The government will lose nothing but respect, if it fails to provide adequate information about its leadership to the people whose money is being deployed and whose mandate the President is holding.”
He added that “A presidential jet is a major symbol of national sovereignty and state power. How much it costs to transport the president, is a major issue of public accountability. I hope that Nigerians will not be denied the right of full disclosure on the new presidential jet.”
Obi’s comment comes after reports that a Chinese company, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment, obtained a Paris court order to detain three of Nigeria’s presidential jets in France as the company seeks to recover about $70 million awarded against Nigeria by a United Kingdom arbitration panel in 2021 over a contract dispute with Ogun State government.
It was the incident that made Nigerians to know that the presidency has acquired a new aircraft, Airbus A330, and that it was among the three seized.
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The quest to buy a presidential jet HD generated criticisms from the citizens who queried that should be the priority of the president at this time that people are being ravaged by economic hardship.
The seized jets, which are part of Nigeria’s presidential air fleet, are a Dassault Falcon 7X at Le Bourget airport in Paris, a Boeing 737 and an Airbus 330 at Basel-Mulhouse airport in Switzerland.
However, the Chinese company last week reportedly said it granted a request by the Nigerian government to release the Airbus A330 for President Tinubu to make use of it in visiting France for a scheduled meeting with French President, Emmanuel Macron this week.
The president went on a “working” visit to France on Monday aboard the Airbus A330.
The new Airbus A330 was reportedly bought at the cost of $100 million and currently registered with the Nigerian Air Force.
According to the Presidential Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the new jet was acquired to replace the 19-year-old Boeing B737-700(BBJ) bought under the Presidency of President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Onanuga said the new plane was bought far below the market price, saving Nigeria “huge maintenance and fuel costs, running into millions of dollars yearly.”
“The new plane is spacious and is furnished with the state-of-the-art avionics, customized interior and communications system.”
Nigerians have however queried the rationale for purchasing the new jet as according to some documents circulating online, the aircraft is 15 years old.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
