No National Assembly Approval for New Presidential Jet.
Investigations have revealed that the procurement of a new presidential jet for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was completed without due process of approval from the National Assembly. Daily Trust findings have shown that the acquisition of the aircraft was made without consulting the legislative body.
This online news platform reported last June that the Nigerian Government has fully paid an Airbus A330 aircraft that it has acquired from a German bank, having originally taken back by the bank from an Arabian Prince who failed to fulfill his financial commitment. The stated attained cost of the plane remained to be revealed, but speculations from previous reports indicated the plane costs $100 million.
He said the request for the purchase of an aircraft was yet to be presented before the legislative house during a session presided over by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio. The latter explained that though the National Assembly had not sat to look into the issue, they would do so if it was presented before them.
“We care about the president and the Nigerian people,” Akpabio said, stressing that the Senate would approve any measure that would yield dividends for the country.
Further, he said the Senate President stated that the National Assembly was being “blackmailed”, and assured that issues bordering on national safety and governance would be exhaustively looked into. He also said there was no formal request by the President for the said aircraft.
The controversy over the purchase of the aircraft took a different turn when a Chinese company, over a legal disagreement, and the Ogun State government seized three Nigerian planes on a French court order.
Breaking: Three Nigerian Presidential Jets Seized by Chinese Firm
One of the seized Airbus A330s was released to enable President Tinubu to attend a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.
The new aircraft was purchased for the President, a presidential spokesperson confirmed to Daily Trust. However, according to the spokesperson, the procurement may be funded from the Service Wide Vote line item in the budget and may not require any express legislative approval.
Upon further perusal, it was found that the request, though earlier recommended by the House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence, led by Satomi Ahmed, was not considered by members of the House before they adjourned on July 23. The House had just passed a supplementary budget bill raising the 2024 Appropriation Act from N28.7 trillion to N35.06 trillion, with no mention of any presidential jet.
Those who spoke to Daily Trust among the lawmakers confirmed that no request or approval for the new jet was presented before the National Assembly. The source in the Senate informed that the matter was never discussed in the plenum and there was no knowledge of any approval.
The hint that the acquisition was without the legislative approval did not bother the NSA spokesman, Zakari Mijinyawa. He, rather, reasoned out that the procurement would have come under Service Wide Vote.
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All efforts to reach major actors, like the Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters, Senator Bashir Lado, and chairpersons of various Senate and House committees, for reaction on how the approval exercise went proved abortive. Same for the Minister of Defence’s media aide, who did not respond to inquiries.
It remains obscure and without official communication, the new presidential jet continues to raise debate and scrutiny over the procurement process and compliance with legislative procedures.
