The President of Nigeria Bola Ahmed Tinubu is expected today Monday 19 August to travel on a new luxury Airbus A330 aircraft,sighted at the Presidential wing of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja at 8.29 pm on Sunday.
Unconfirmed reports said it was a presidential plane..
It was reported earlier on Sunday that the aircraft touched down at Abuja airport on Sunday evening, after departing from EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg in France at 4:16 pm.
This followed the release of the aircraft, which was one of the three presidential jets recently confiscated by a French court in favour of a Chinese firm over a dispute with Ogun State Government.
SaharaReporters reported on Friday that Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited had announced the release of one of the three presidential aircraft belonging to Nigeria, which had been detained in France.
The Chinese company characterized the release of the aircraft as a goodwill gesture, for the upcoming meeting between President Tinubu and French President Emmanuel Macron.
The company stated that it recognized the significance of the aircraft for the diplomatic engagement and took steps to ensure its availability, thereby facilitating the meeting.
The aircraft in question is an ACJ330-200, VP-CAC (msn 1053), registered as 5N-FGA.
It features a bedroom with an en-suite bathroom at the front, followed by an office and a conference and dining room. It also has an airline-style first-class and economy seating at the rear.
On June 28, it was reported that the Nigerian government planned to spend over N150 billion on a new presidential jet, a move that sparked controversy.
The proposed expenditure came under scrutiny as the nation grappled with economic challenges and record inflation.
The Airbus A330 aircraft, was reportedly in possession of a German bank, and was acquired following a default on a multi-million-dollar loan by an Arab prince and businessman.
The A330 combines new-generation engines, aerodynamic and other improvements to deliver even more comfort and efficiency. Designed for highly-demanding VIP and private markets, the aircraft delivers top-end luxury, comfort and range.
On Friday, Omoyele Sowore, the convener of the #RevolutionNow movement, alleged that the reported seizure of the country’s presidential jets by the Chinese company was a staged event.
The former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress raised questions about the release of one of the three presidential aircraft seized by a French court over a dispute between a Chinese firm and the Ogun State government.
He expressed skepticism in a post on his X account on Friday, asking why the Chinese company was selectively choosing which jet President Tinubu would use for his ‘medical trip’ from Abuja to France.
He wrote, “There is something fishy going on with these Presidential Jet seizures in France.
“It looks like this part was arranged to launch the new Presidential Jet with “sympathy.”
“Suddenly, this Chinese company is picking and choosing which jet could pick @officialABAT up in Abuja to France on an apparent medical trip.
However there was no approval by the National Assembly before the procurement of the said new presidential jet for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Daily Trust’s findings have revealed.
Late in June, an online news platform reported that the Nigerian government had acquired an Airbus A330 aircraft from a German bank.
According to PREMIUM TIMES, the German bank had seized the aircraft from an unnamed Arabian prince and businessman, who reportedly failed to pay hundreds of millions of dollars he owed the bank.
Officials of the Presidency, had “kept their lips shut” about the planned purchase of a new aircraft for the Presidential Air Fleet.
And since then, there has not been any official statement from the Presidency on the matter.
The actual cost of the aircraft is yet to be ascertained. A report earlier by Premium Times had said it was learnt that government was negotiating to acquire it for $100 million, but said it could not establish the actual price it was procured.
Speaking on the matter during a plenary session of the upper legislative chamber, however, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said the request for purchase of the aircraft had not been tabled before the parliament, but that once done, members would consider and approve it.
“We care about the president and we care about the Nigerian people. We will approve things that will benefit the Nigerian people”, Akpabio had said then, in respect of the bid to acquire the presidential aircraft.
Akpabio, who alleged that the National Assembly was being “blackmailed” over the matter, said: “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 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”, he said pointedly.
Nothing was heard about the matter until the recent controversy broke about the seizure of three Nigerian aircraft by a Chinese firm, acting on an order of a French court.
The French court had ordered the seizure of the three jets amid a long-standing dispute between Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment and the Ogun State government, over a massive industrial park that was to be developed to attract investors.
It was not immediately clear whether it was the same aircraft President Tinubu would use for his trip to France today.
A presidential spokesperson confirmed to Daily Trust that the new aircraft was purchased for the president.
On whether an approval was obtained from the National Assembly before the procurement of the presidential jet, the spokesperson said, “There was a story that the National Assembly directed that the aircraft should be procured for the President. There are a number of windows to the National Assembly.”
The government official also hinted that the aircraft could have been purchased under the Service Wide Vote, which he said, may not require the parliament’s assent.
Daily Trust National Assembly correspondents found that though the House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence led by Satomi Ahmed had, earlier in June, recommended a new aircraft be procured for the president, the lawmakers did not approve it before they proceeded on their annual recess on July 23.
No approval request from the president for the procurement of a new presidential was considered on the floors of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The House of Representatives had, on July 23, passed the supplementary bill which sought to raise the 2024 Appropriation Act from N28.7 trillion to N35.06 trillion.
The chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Abubakar Bichi, who presented the harmonised joint Senate and House report on the budget, had said, “As you can see, we have passed the N6.2 trillion budget of Mr President, the budget of Renewed Nope.
“N3.2 trillion is for capital expenditure; while about N3 trillion will go to the current. And as I said last time, the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway is a critical road infrastructure that Mr President wants to actualise.”
We’re not aware of approval for new presidential jet – Lawmakers
Some lawmakers, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity yesterday, said the National Assembly neither considered nor approved any request for the procurement of a presidential jet before proceeding on recess.
A credible source in the Senate said: “At no time was deal discussed at the plenary meeting. It was not tabled. But then, there is the probability that the president had sent the letter.”
Another source also said he was not aware of any approval by the Senate for the purchase of a new presidential jet.
“The last time we heard something about the new aircraft was when the Senate president, Akpabio, said no communication about it yet from the Villa, but that the National Assembly would not hesitate to approve it.
“I read it in the media that the aircraft had been purchased, and as I speak with you, no one has denied that the deal was sealed,” he said.
A member of the House of Representatives also told Daily Trust yesterday that no correspondence from the president was presented to them about the purchase of a new aircraft for the president.
He said: “We’ve not seen anything in the main budget or the supplementary budget about the purchase of a new presidential aircraft. Another thing is that, there is no detail of the supplementary budget passed. So, we don’t know whether it is in the 2024 supplementary budget because we have not been availed with the detailed breakdown. It was presented as a lump sum.
“We don’t know about the purchase of the aircraft because it was not presented to us and we have not seen any details about it. So, we cannot say anything. So, I won’t have any comments until I see the details”.
It can’t be true – NSA’s spokesman
When contacted on telephone last night, the spokesman of the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Zakari Mijinyawa, told one of our reporters that it could not be true that the new presidential plane was purchased without an approval of the National Assembly.
“It cannot be true. This is the time I am hearing this whether in government or outside government,” he said.
Later in a telephone call to Daily Trust, Mijinyawa said he was informed by someone “within the system” that the purchase was captured in the Service Wide Vote.
Presidency, Defence ministry, Senate, Reps mum
The Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters, Senator Bashir Lado, did not respond to WhatsApp and text messages seeking his comment. His phone line was busy several times one of our reporters called yesterday.
The chairmen of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu and Honourable Akin Rotimi respectively were contacted yesterday by Daily Trust via phone calls and text messages to confirm whether or not the purchase of the new presidential jet was authorized by the legislature, but they did not oblige.
In the same vein, the chairmen of the Senate and House Committees on Appropriations, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola and Honourable Abubakar Bichi respectively, neither answered phone calls nor replied to messages sent to their mobile lines telephone mobile line for enquiries.
Several calls and a text message to Mati Ali, the media aide to the Minister of Defence, Abubakar Badaru, were also not answered.
–Additional details from Daily Trust and other credible online platforms.
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