Akpabio Counters Approving Presidential Jets For Tinubu, Shettima

Senate President Godswill Akpabio explained on Tuesday that the Senate had not approved the purchase of new presidential jets for President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima.

He dismissed a report that the National Assembly would approve the acquisition of new aircraft despite Nigeria’s economic challenges, calling the report “malicious.”

The controversy arose following a recommendation by the House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence to procure new aircraft for the President and Vice President due to the current jets being deemed faulty and unsafe. Recently, President Tinubu traveled to South Africa on a private jet, which fueled the discussion.

Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga responded to criticisms from Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, who labeled the plan as “misplaced and insensitive.” Onanuga defended the necessity of new jets, stating, “Does he [Obi] want him [Tinubu] to continue moving around in a rickety plane and die like the VP of Malawi and Iran President? Let him tell us. This is a basic thing any sane government will do. You can’t toy with your President’s welfare.”

In a statement by his media aide Jackson Udom, Akpabio denied any such approval by the National Assembly. Speaking in Maiduguri, Borno State, after a condolence visit to Senator Tahir Monguno, Akpabio said, “I want to dispel the rumour that you are hearing that the Senate President said he would buy a new plane for the President and his Vice, irrespective of the fact that Nigerians are hungry or whatever. I never said that. I was actually in Zanzibar, Tanzania. It is the handiwork of propagandists and fifth columnists, who never see anything good in what we are doing.”

Akpabio also expressed satisfaction with the security improvements in Borno State and urged continued support and prayers for the Tinubu administration. “I am happy to see that peace has returned to Borno, as a result of the hard work of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I want to tell the good people of Borno to continue to support the administration,” he said.