The retrieved Rivers aircraft

ONE thing at least is clear from the ongoing exchange of accusations between Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, and his immediate predecessor and current Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and that is that a Legacy 600 jet was purchased for the use of the governor and his entourage by former Governor Peter Odili in 2003. What remains a mystery is how and under what circumstances the said aircraft found its way to Munich, Germany, under the auspices of General Atomics AeroTec Systems, a German maintenance, repair and overhaul company.

If Governor Nyesom and his allies are to be believed, the aircraft was abandoned there by his predecessor, albeit for reasons unclear to the governor himself. In any event, sensing that something was wrong, and having done his homework on the matter, he had flown to Germany with a whole entourage to establish the whereabouts of the aircraft, and had met the officials of General Atomics who confirmed that they were indeed in possession of it. According to the governor, the state has spent $3 million so far on necessary repairs to the jet.

For his part, Mr. Amaechi has flatly denied any wrongdoing. Indeed, his account of what happened, namely that the Legacy 600 jet was sent to Germany to be repaired and sold to fund infrastructure projects in the state, has been strongly corroborated by two of his lieutenants, namely former Commissioner of Transport, Tolofari George, and former Commissioner for Agriculture, Emmanuel Chinda.

The claims by both sides raise more questions than answers. Where is the paper trail showing how and when the aircraft was flown to Germany? If indeed it was flown to Germany to be sold, why has it been in some kind of holding pattern for so long? Why spend such a large sum of money on a plane that was intended to be sold in the first place? Who wanted to buy the jet, and why could the deal not have taken place in Nigeria?

As for Governor Wike specifically: why take a whole entourage to Germany simply to negotiate the release of an aircraft? Since General Atomics confirmed that the jet was in its possession, couldn’t subsequent negotiations have been done virtually? At any rate, why does a state that is beset by economic challenges need a private jet, and one that it clearly cannot maintain?

The larger moral here is about frivolous spending, a lingering culture of waste at the upper echelons of government in Nigeria. Governor Wike and Mr. Amaechi can continue to point the finger at each other, but the ultimate losers in this seedy story are the innocent people of Rivers State.