Jonathan Nwokpor
The 10th National Assembly will not for the plane accident occurrences that resulted in the deaths of the President of Iran and the vice president of Malawi to occur in Nigeria due to malfunctioning presidential jets, according to Senate President Godwill Akpabio.
During Thursday’s plenary, Akpabio stated that should the necessity arise, the Senate will not think twice about approving President Bola Tinubu’s request to replace malfunctioning aircraft in the Presidential Fleet.
But he made it clear that the MPs had not been presented with any such request for permission for a presidential jet.
Akpabio, meanwhile, stated that if the request is made, the Senate will approve the purchase for the President regardless of any potential coercion.
He said, “We care about the President and we care about the Nigerian people. We will approve things that will benefit the Nigerian people.
“Somebody called me from BBC, that what I said in Senator Monguno’s house was false and should be disregarded, that I was now saying that I will not approve.
“That is what you can call anticipated blackmail. The purveyors of the story know very well that maybe there is a problem with the Presidential Fleet and that where they will go will be the parliament.
”And so they are now trying to do anticipated blackmail to tell us if they bring it, do not look into it.
“So I think that we should ignore them because of what we are doing here. I read the President’s correspondence to us.
“Nothing was touching on a plane or no plane, but I can tell you that when you hear stories such as the death of the Vice President of Malawi as a result of a defective plane, and then you hear stories such as the death of the President of Iran as a result of defective aircraft, we shouldn’t ever sit and allow such.
“The Senate is very responsible. The National Assembly is very responsible. We will look into issues that will benefit the governance of the country.”
Akpabio added, “Irrespective of anticipatory blackmail, because those people know very well that something like that might come in the future. If it’s a necessity, the Senate will look into it. But there is nothing like that before us now.”
His response coincides with rumours that the Senate authorized the replacement of the president’s malfunctioning planes.
Recall that the Committee on National Security and Intelligence of the House of Representatives had suggested that the President and the Vice-President acquire new planes, citing the current presidential jets as unsafe to fly due to malfunctions.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi passed away in an aircraft accident on May 19, 2024. On June 12, 2024, nine other people, including Malawi’s vice president, Saulos Klaus Chilima, suffered the same fate.
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