- Says Tinubu will get the nod for the presidential jet if requested
By Abiola Olawale
The President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio has debunked reports that the red chamber is currently considering approving funds for the purchase of new presidential aircrafts for both President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Speaking during plenary on Thursday, Akpabio clarified that there is currently no request before the Senate for the purchase of a presidential aircraft.
The Senate President said that the dissemination of this evidently false information is an attempt to coerce the Senate into withholding approval for the purchase of the presidential plane, should the need for such an acquisition arise.
He said: “We care about the president and we care about the Nigerian people. We will approve things that will benefit the Nigerian people.
“We will approve things that would improve the living standard of the people. At the same time, we will also take cognizance of the duties of the president.
“If his vehicle is bad, we will repair the vehicle. If his plane is bad, we will approve money for the repair of the plane. So that is not an issue. There is nothing before us.
I don’t think you should worry about it.
“ Somebody called me from BBC, that what I said in Senator Mongunu’s house, was false and should be disregarded, that I was now saying that I will not approve.
“That is what you can call anticipated blackmail. The professors of the story know very well that maybe there is a problem with the presidential fleet and that where they will go will be the parliament.
”And so they are now trying to do anticipated blackmail to tell us if they bring it, do not look into it.
“So I think that we should ignore them because of what we are doing here. I read the president’s correspondence to us. Nothing was touching on a plane or no plane, but I can tell you that when you hear stories such as the death of the vice president of Malawi as a result of a defective plane. And then you hear students such as the death of the president of Iran as a result of defective aircraft.
“We shouldn’t ever sit and allow such to be at the ocean. It wouldn’t be. The Senate is very responsible. The National Assembly is very responsible. We will look into issues that will benefit the governance of the country.
“Irrespective of anticipatory blackmail, because those people know very well that something like that might come in the future. And if it’s a necessity, the Senate will look into it. But there is nothing like that before us now.”
It would be recalled that the issue of the purchase of a new presidential plane broke into the media space when the House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence called on the FG to buy new aircraft for Tinubu and Shettima.
The committee’s recommendation was contained in a report released after it investigated the status of the aircraft in the presidential air fleet.
The report reads in part: “The committee is of the strong and informed opinion that, considering the fragile structure of the Nigerian federation and recognising the dire consequences of any foreseen or unforeseen mishap that may arise as a result of the technical or operational inadequacy of the presidential air fleet, it is in the best interest of the country to procure two additional aircraft as recommended.”
