Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Mr. Peter Obi has asked the Federal Government to give account of how it dealt with and operated the old and new presidential jets.
Obi’s position comes after recent disputes about the Ogun State Government’s contract with a Chinese company for jets, which resulted in the seizure of three planes.
Obi called on the federal government to provide details on how much the jets were purchased, their total number, and other information that is not currently accessible to the public.
“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.
“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.
Controversiality occurred when Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. was ordered by a French court to seize three of the presidential jets belonging to the Nigerian government over contract breach.
The Tribunal Judiciaire de Paris has prohibited Nigeria from transferring or reselling the presidential jets until the Chinese firm is awarded the $74.5 million.
As a way of providing security for claims in a decades-long judicial matter between the foreign company and the Ogun State government, the court gave permission for the company to seize three presidential jets which were in France for routine maintenance.
As per reports, the Presidential jets that were confiscated include one Dassault Falcon 7X at Le Bourget airport in Paris, one Boeing 737, and one Airbus 330 at Basel-Mulhouse airport in Switzerland.
One of the jets has since been released to the Nigerian government.
Experts have shared their views on the contract and many have criticized the federal government for always failing to fulfill contract agreements since the controversy degenerated.
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 diplomatic solution to the dispute has been requested by Gbenga Daniel, who once served as the governor of Ogun State.
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