Be honest to Nigerians on presidential jet purchase, Peter Obi tells Tinubu

• Obi said the Nigerian government must furnish its citizens whose money went into buying the jet with every details of the purchased aircraft.

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the last year’s election, Peter Obi, has asked the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration to be upfront and transparent on the details of the newly acquired presidential jet and those of the old ones being sold off.

He made the call on Tuesday night on his X handle.

Recall that Tinubu, on Monday, left Nigeria for France aboard the newly acquired Airbus A330 business jet, despite widespread opposition to its purchase.

The jet, which cost over $100m, is one of the three presidential aircraft a French court authorised a Chinese firm, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited, to take possession of over a dispute with the Ogun State Government.

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

Reacting to the development, Obi said the Nigerian government must furnish its citizens whose money went into buying the jet with every details of the purchased aircraft.

“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,” Obi said.

He said that the federal government would lose nothing but respect, if it failed to provide adequate information about its leadership to the people whose money was being deployed and whose mandate the President was 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 added.