- Group: VP Should Not Behave Like A President
By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly, Abdulkareem Lawan has drawn the ire of Nigerians for asking the Federal Government to consider buying a new aircraft for Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Lawan said this has become a matter of urgency as Shettima’s life is at risk considering the state of the current VP’s aircraft.
This development has resulted in backlash as some Nigerians have lambasted the Borno speaker, asking him to draw good example from a rich country like Singapore whose Prime Minister, Lawrence Wong flies commercial flights in and outside Singapore.
Recall that The New Diplomat reported recently how Singapore’s Prime Minister Wong drew public applause after he flew economy class from Vientiane, Laos to Singapore.
The video of PM Wong boarding a commercial flight called Scoot airline went viral on social media in October.
Indeed, a rich industrialist from Asia, Harsh Goenka was prompted to write on x formerly twitter: “The PM of Singapore travels on official duty aboard a low cost airline-on a normal scheduled flight, no frills, no national or private jet, and without a large entourage at the taxpayers expense. This is how respect is earned.”
However, Borno House Speaker while making a case for a new Aircraft for VP Shettima noted the Vice President’s aircraft has shown it has passed into obsolescence and deserves to be replaced with a new one.
The speaker made the appeal in a statement issued on Sunday. He said the aircraft designated to the vice president has had several incidents in recent times.
The statement reads, “I want to sympathise with the Nigerian Government, especially the office of the Vice President, his crew and staff over the unfortunate incident at JFK Airport in New York, U.S.A.
“I also express my gratitude to Allah (God) for saving the precious life of our dear Vice President Senator Kashim Shettima and those on board the ill-fated VP’s plane, even as I urge the Nigerian government to demand a thorough and timely investigation from the United States government over the incident that affected Vice President Kashim Shettima’s plane at one of the most secure spots in the World.
“The life of the Vice President and that of his crew/officials stand at risk while using the old and faulty presidential aircraft. Therefore, there is an urgent need to acquire a new aircraft for Senator Kashim Shettima so as to avoid these recurrences of air mishaps.”
This is coming a few days after Vice President Kashim Shetima cancelled his trip to the Commonwealth Summit in Samoa over an incident at an airport in New York, United States.
In a statement issued on Thursday night, the presidency had said Shettima could not proceed to Samoa because a foreign object hit his plane during a stopover at JFK Airport in New York.
Thursday’s incident would be the second trip Shettima will cancel mid-way.
In May, he was scheduled to represent the President at the US-Africa Business Summit in Dallas, Texas, but returned midflight due to a technical fault with his aircraft.
“ Why can’t the VP travel in a commercial flight? He is not the President of the country. Singapore is one of the richest and most economically successful countries in the world yet its PM travels in Commercial flight and boarded economy from Laos to Singapore. Please, let our leaders learn..,.” an analyst hit back at the Borno House Speaker for calling for the purchase of a new aircraft for Nigeria’s Vice President.
