Publish Reps Probe On Faulty Presidential Jet, Hon Gbillah Urges Lawmakers
The former Chairman of the Investigating Committee for Crude Oil Theft in the House of Representatives Mark Gbillah has urged the lower chamber to make its report on the probe of the faulty presential jet public.
Gbillah, who represented the Gwer East/Gwer West Federal constituency of Benue State in the 9th Assembly, believes that the issue with the president’s jet could have been caused by a lack of maintenance, especially since the lifespan of the aircraft is still within the allowable limit.
“I would encourage the National Assembly to make it public. Every decision concerning this issue should be made public,” Gbillah said on Channels Television’s Political Paradigm.
“We can even invite other experts to tell the National Assembly the true situation and the condition of our presidential fleet which I believe should be in good flying condition once every maintenance is made and if there are repairs to be done, those can be done.
New Jet Not Necessary
In April, President Bola Tinubu resorted to a commercial flight to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Riyadh after the aircraft he travelled with to The Netherlands developed a fault.
Around the same time, Vice-President Kashim Shettima was seen arriving in Ogun state in a chartered aircraft. Shettima later aborted his trip to the US mid-air after the aircraft transporting him developed an engine fault.
A committee of the House of Reps had recommended that two aircraft be bought for the president and vice president.
But the former lawmaker advised the Federal Government against purchasing a new aircraft at a time when the living conditions in Nigeria have deteriorated.
“If there has been an investigation about what transpired with regards to the aircraft, it should be made public. We have professionals replete in this aviation sector with knowledge about the industry.
“We do not need to go into procuring new aircraft at this time. The fact that something happened when Mr President flew to Paris and couldn’t fly to Saudi Arabia might not be something to do with the plane being faulty.
“It might have been an oversight on somebody’s part. It might have been a lack of maintenance. I do not think this is a time to be procuring new aircraft, that is being insensitive,” he said.
Akpabio Speaks
Earlier, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, said the Senate will consider a request for a new presidential jet if there is a necessity for that but dismissed claims that the lawmakers are set to approve the purchase of the same at the moment.
Akpabio said this during plenary in Abuja on June 27 amid claims in some quarters that the Senate is set to approve the purchase of a new jet for President Bola Tinubu.
“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. So, they can go ahead and blackmail the senate president, that will not affect me,” he said.
The senate president who refuted claims that the National Assembly does not care for the masses, said the lawmakers are committed to doing what is best for the generality of Nigerians.
“The Senate is very responsible. The National Assembly is very responsible. We will look into issues that will benefit the governance of the country,” Akpabio said.
“That is what you can call anticipatory blackmail. The purveyors of the story know very well that maybe there is a problem with the presidential fleet and that where they will go will be the parliament,” he said.
