Nigerians deserve to be told about new and old presidential jets, Peter Obi tells Presidency

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), in the 2023 General Election, Peter Obi, on Tuesday, asked the administration of President Bola Tinubu to show Nigerians the details of the newly acquired presidential jet and the details of the old jet that was sold.

Tinubu, on Monday, began a working visit to France aboard his newly acquired Airbus A330 business jet. The visit comes amidst a growing controversy surrounding his purchase.

The model, which is normally used as a twin-aisle passenger aircraft, was purchased last month at a cost of $100 million and has been registered with the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).

The modified jet is one of three presidential planes recently seized by a French court in favor of Chinese company Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited in a dispute with the Ogun State Government.

Meanwhile, on August 16, Zhongshan said it had decided to release one of the three planes as a gesture of goodwill, especially given the scheduled meeting between President Tinubu and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron.

However, Obi, in a post on his X account titled: “Now the Presidential Jet has arrived,” stated: “From all indications, despite all the denials, and back and forth regarding the newly acquired Presidential jet, the jet is now here thanks to the French courts that helped Nigerians get the information.

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“Now that the Jet is here, do the Nigerian taxpayers whose money was used to buy it need to know how much it cost, how old it is and how long it has been in service.

“Also, Nigerians have the right to know how the old jets were disposed of, how many there were, how old they were and why they were sold. Transparency and Accountability must be the hallmarks of true leadership.

“The government will lose nothing but respect if it fails to provide adequate information about its leadership to the people whose money it spends and whose mandate the President holds.

“The presidential plane is a prime symbol of national sovereignty and state power. How much it costs to transport the president is a major matter of public accountability. I hope Nigerians will not be deprived of their right to be fully informed about the new presidential plane.”

Nigerians deserve explanation on new and old presidential jets, Peter Obi tells Presidency first appeared on Latest Nigeria News | Headlines from Ripples Nigeria.