Peter Obi Demands Transparency on Presidential Jet Purchase And Old Aircraft Sales

Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate, has called on the President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to disclose the details of the newly acquired presidential jet and the old ones being sold off. President Tinubu recently visited France aboard a modified Airbus A330 business jet purchased for $100m and registered to the Nigerian Air Force.

The jet is one of three presidential aircraft recently seized by the orders of a French court in favor of a Chinese firm, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited, over a dispute with the Ogun State Government. However, Zhongshan has decided to release one of the three aircrafts as a gesture of goodwill due to a scheduled meeting between President Tinubu and French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.

Obi argues that “Nigerian taxpayers whose money was used to purchase it need to be privy to how much it costs, how old the aircraft is, and how long it has been in operation.

“Nigerians also deserve to know how the old jets are disposed of, 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,” Obi said.

Mr. Obi believes that transparency and accountability should be the hallmark of genuine leadership and that the federal government would lose respect if it failed to provide adequate information about its leadership.