Senate President Godswill Akpabio has clarified that there is no request before the National Assembly (NASS) to appropriate funds for a new presidential jet.
His clarification was prompted by a motion by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele regarding media reports of a planned purchase of a new presidential jet.
Akpabio said the Senate will consider such a request if it is made and deemed necessary.
This came after President Bola Tinubu recently took a commercial flight to the World Economic Forum in Riyadh following a technical issue with the aircraft that took him to The Netherlands.
Akpabio’s statement aimed to dispel rumours and reassure that the National Assembly will only act if a formal request is made and it is deemed essential.
He spoke during plenary yesterday, following a motion by the Senate leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, that there are plans to appropriate money to buy a new presidential jet.
Similarly, Vice-President Kashim Shettima was seen arriving in Ogun State in a chartered aircraft, and later aborted his trip to the US mid-air after the aircraft transporting him developed an engine fault.
Consequently, two committees of the National Assembly recommended that two aircraft be bought for the president and vice president.
Akpabio said the National Assembly was concerned about the president’s welfare, just as it was concerned about the welfare of citizens.
“We care about the President, and we care about the Nigerian people. We will approve things that will benefit the Nigerian people,” Akpabio said. We will approve things that would improve the living standards of the people. At the same time, we will also take cognisance of the duties of the president.
“If his vehicle is bad, we will repair the vehicle. If his plane is bad, we will approve money to repair the plane. So that is not an issue.
The Senate and the National Assembly are very responsible. We will look into issues that will benefit the country’s governance 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.”
In his motion, Bamidele dismissed speculations that the Upper Chamber was debating approval of a presidential aircraft in the 2024 supplementary budget.
Opeyemi said, “The Senate is aware of insinuations that its President, Godswill Akpabio, had at one time indicated that we had a request for the purchase of a new plane to be approved for President Tinubu. And that the President of the Senate had indicated that regardless of what Nigerians were going through, it would be approved.
“As we sit here, a section of the social media had also been circulating that we had gone into an executive session to discuss about the presidential request for a new plane and how we are going to approve it.
“Let me alert Nigerians that there is the presence of a fifth columnist and some other propagandists who are doing everything possible to destabilise this country and also destabilise the parliament. As the leader of this Senate, I say for the record that there is no request before this for us as of yet.”
Reacting, Akpabio said, “When you hear stories such as the death of the Vice President of Malawi as a result of a defective plane, and then you hear stories such as the death of the President of Iran, as a result of the defective helicopter, we should never dream and allow such to be our portion, it will not be.
“The Senate is responsible, the National Assembly is very responsible. We will look into issues that will benefit the governance of the country. Those speculating know very well that something like that may come in the future, and if it is necessary, the Senate will look into it. But, there is nothing like that before us now,” he said.
