New jets for the presidency?

IF there was any indication of the sour mood of Nigerians owing to economic deprivation and pervasive hunger, it was the reaction to the move, last week, by the Presidency to acquire new aircraft. Expressing shock that the government was making such a move when the majority of Nigerians were struggling to feed, prominent Nigerians and groups condemned the move to procure a new aircraft for President Bola Tinubu and his deputy, Kashim Shettima. Among other organisations,  the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Middle Belt Forum (MBF), Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF) and the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) maintained that jets should not be the priority of the Presidency at a time when Nigerians could barely feed. In recent times, the organised labour and the Federal Government have been at loggerheads over a new national minimum wage. While labour demanded a N250,000 minimum wage, the government said it could only afford N62,000 due to economic constraints. Additionally, it urged Nigerians to embrace austerity measures and make sacrifices for the country during these challenging economic times.

The Presidency’s quest for new aircraft comes amid stories of huge expenditure on the current Presidential Air Fleet comprising six main aircraft, namely a Boeing 737, Gulfstream G550, Gulfstream GV, two Falcon 7Xs, and a Challenger CL605, and six helicopters. According to a State House report, the Tinubu administration allocated a total of N14.77 billion to the repair and maintenance of the fleet over an 11-month period. The payments, which were executed in 11 separate tranches, were processed through the ‘Presidential Air Fleet Transit Funds’ account at the State House headquarters. The allocation coincides with ongoing deliberations in the National Assembly over the proposed acquisition of two new aircraft after concerns were raised about the functionality of the president’s 19-year-old Boeing 737 and other aircraft in the fleet.

In that regard, a report attributed to the House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence reportedly detailed the urgent need for additional aircraft, estimating the procurement cost at over $623.4 million. The committee stressed the critical importance of maintaining a reliable and safe fleet, crucial for the duties and security of the president and vice president. Proponents of the move cite the fact that for his recent trips, President Tinubu chartered private jets, and the fact that Vice President Shettima shelved international trips due to technical issues with official aircraft. During the tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari, N62.47 billion was reportedly expended on the fleet’s operation and maintenance.

To say the very least, the quest for new presidential aircraft is confounding. It is a mark of official indifference to the plight of Nigerians who have had to bear the brunt of the government’s harsh policies for over a year now. Just how can Nigerians be called upon to endure the cost of additional aircraft for the president and his deputy at this time? It is a fact that the government has not yet come clean on the status of the aircraft in the presidential fleet: all that Nigerians can do is an educated guess. At the moment, the fleet is rather too large and does not even reflect the dire straits in the land. It is, for want of a better term, an obscenity. That being the case, asking for new aircraft is not only provocative but smacks of executive presumptuousness about the docility of Nigerians. There are six airplanes and six helicopters for the use of the president and his deputy at the moment and if they have become disused or unserviceable, the government should simply dispose of them. There is nothing that justifies a life of luxury for Nigeria’s leaders. Nigeria is the poverty capital of the world and it is a shame that rather than honour its pledge to cut down on the fleet and deploy the funds raised therefrom to productive engagements, the Buhari government merely enjoyed the fleet. If Nigeria is financially constrained, that ought to reflect on the Presidency and indeed the entire governmental operations. To cut through to the chase, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the Nigerian president and vice president flying commercial aircraft. As a local proverb puts it, a rat washes its face to the extent its tiny hands allow.

It is callous and insensitive to saddle long-suffering Nigerians with the burden of additional aircraft when the issue of minimum wage that affects millions of workers has not been sorted out over a year after President Tinubu removed subsidy on PMS. The implication, when the proposed 300 percent hike in the salaries of judges and the fact that the 469 federal lawmakers got vehicles that cost N160 million each are considered, is that Nigeria’s political class hasn’t the slightest concern in the world for the populace who literally scrounge and starve. The government needs to persuade Nigerians beyond all reasonable doubts that it is necessary to undertake the proposed expenditure on new aircraft and in our view, there is no basis in logic for it. The cost of maintaining the drainpipe called Presidential Air Fleet is humongous. There is no need to increase it. Rather, the fleet should be done away with altogether, at least until the country’s fortunes can accommodate such luxury.

ALSO READ: Aiye-ko-ooto’s ‘The Noble Warrior’ celebrates Soyinka