- Says Decision Highlights Disconnect Between Government And The People
- It’s Time For Political Class To Stop “Recklessness” And Focus On Needs Of The People
- Demands A More Compassionate Use Of Resources, Prioritizing Citizens’ Welfare
The proposal to buy a new aircraft for the use of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima has drawn the ire of Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections.
An angry Obi while faulting the proposal said it amounts to impunity, insensitivity, and shamelessness while calling on the political class to refocus on the needs of the people.
Trouble started when the House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence asked the federal government to immediately purchase new airplanes for the use of Tinubu and Shettima.
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The Committee made the call in a report issued after its technical subcommittee conducted a hearing on the status and airworthiness of aircraft in the Presidential Air Fleet (PAF).
The health state of the Presidential Air Fleet has been a source of concern of late.
In May, a faulty presidential jet stopped VP Shettima from attending the 2024 US-Africa Business Summit hosted by the Corporate Council on Africa.
Last December, a presidential aircraft, Falcon 900B, was put up for sale, with the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) asking interested persons to submit their bids for the purchase of the aircraft.
However, Obi, while disagreeing with the decision in a statement published on Monday on X, said the proposal for a new aircraft “highlights the disconnect between the government and the people”.
Hear him; “With rising insecurity, poverty, hunger, and homelessness, this decision highlights the disconnect between the government and the people. It is unacceptable and demands a more compassionate use of resources, prioritizing citizens’ welfare.
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“It’s on record that our presidential jets have an average age of 12 years, purchased when most Nigerians could afford basic necessities. Now, as our country faces significant challenges, including a high debt profile, our citizens are in even greater need.
“Instead of adding to our luxuries, we should be focused on alleviating their suffering and finding solutions to their problems. For long, our bad leadership has made our priorities, as leaders, to be at variance to the needs of society, which is why we are headed now south, as a nation.
“To elucidate further, despite dropping down to the fourth-largest economy in Africa, with a GDP of $252 billion and a per capita income of $1,080, with huge debt burdens and borrowing to service debts, yet, we are spending $15 million for our Vice President’s residence, while the USA, the world’s largest economy with a GDP of $25 trillion, about 100 times our GDP, and a per capita income of $80,000, about 80 times ours, still houses their Vice President in Number 1 Observatory Circle, a house built over 100 years ago, and whose value is obviously less than the $15 million we are spending on our VP’s residence. A reputable real estate company, actually, reports that the US Vice President’s Official Residence is valued at about $7.5 million today.
“While we had earlier refurbished the old VP residence with $2 million, the over 100 years old US Vice President’s house has only undergone wide scale renovations twice, funded by taxpayers money; in 1993 and in 2021.
“Every new US VP is free to finance any minor refurbishing from his personal funds. It’s, therefore, time to stop this impunity, insensitivity, and shamelessness and refocus on the needs of our people. We must prioritize education, healthcare, and lifting our citizens out of poverty.
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“Let us work together to build a nation that truly serves its people, not just the interests of a few. Let’s rise to the challenge, and build this new Nigeria which is now more possible than ever before.”
Obi further called on the political class to stop “recklessness” and focus on the needs of the people.
