NIGERIANS DESERVE TRANSPARENCY ON OLD, NEW PRESIDENTIAL JETS

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The former presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has called on the Federal Government to give an account of its dealings and operations regarding the old and new presidential jets.

Obi’s stance comes following recent controversies around the Ogun State government’s contract with a Chinese company over jets, leading to the seizure of three aircraft.

Reacting to the development, Obi urged the federal government to give details on how much the jets are purchased, their total numbers, and other information not in the public domain.

“Now that the Jet is here, can Nigerian taxpayers whose money was used to purchase it need to be privy to how much it cost and how old the aircraft is and how long its been in operation.

“In addition, Nigerians also deserve to know about how the old jets being disposed, how many of them, how old they are, and why they are being sold. Transparency and Accountability should be the hallmark of any genuine leadership.

“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.

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“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 wrote in a series of tweets on his official X handle.

Controversy erupted when a French court ordered Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited to seize three presidential jets belonging to the Nigerian government over a contract breach.

It was gathered that the Tribunal Judiciaire de Paris stopped Nigeria from moving or selling the presidential jets until the Chinese firm received the awarded $74.5 million.

The court allowed the company to seize three presidential jets on routine maintenance in France as “security” for claims in a decades-long judicial matter between the foreign company and the Ogun State government.

According to reports, the seized presidential jets include a Dassault Falcon 7X at Le Bourget airport in Paris, a Boeing 737, and an Airbus 330 at Basel-Mulhouse airport in Switzerland.

One of the jets has since been released to the Nigerian government.

The controversy has since degenerated, with experts giving their views on the contract, and many criticising the federal government for always defaulting on contract agreements.

Reacting, a statement by the presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, alleged that the Chinese firm was trying “to take over offshore assets of the Federal Government of Nigeria through subterfuge.”

A former governor of Ogun State, Gbenga Daniel, has since called for a diplomatic solution to the dispute.