The House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence recently stirred the hornet’s nest when it asked the Federal Government to purchase two new aircrafts for President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima.
Nigerians went wild with anger when the committee’s recommendation came to the public knowledge.
The recommendation was contained in a report of the committee’s investigation into the status of the aircraft in the presidential air fleet.
“The committee is of the strong and informed opinion that considering the fragile structure of the Nigerian federation and recognising the dire consequences of any foreseen or unforeseen mishap that may arise as a result of the technical or operational inadequacy of the presidential air fleet, it is in the best interest of the country to procure two additional aircrafts as recommended.
“This will also prove to be most cost-efficient in the long run, apart from the added advantage of providing a suitable, comfortable, and safe carrier befitting of the status and responsibilities of the office of the president and vice-president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the report stated.
The committee was mandated by the lower chamber of the national assembly in May to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the aircraft in the presidential fleet to ascertain their airworthiness and technical status.
The assignment followed a motion by the House Committee Chairman on National Security and Intelligence, Satomi Ahmed.
According to reports, Ahmed’s motion followed reports of faulty aircraft in the presidential air fleet, a development that forced the President to use a chartered plane from the Netherlands to Saudi Arabia during his recent trip abroad
There was a heated debate on the floor of the House when some lawmakers suggested that the President should travel via commercial aircraft or by road.
But in the end, the Committee was given the assignment to investigate and report to the House the condition of aircrafts in the presidential fleet.
To be on the same page, Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence, Shehu Buba Umar, also supported the recommendation by the lower chamber’s committee.
Ever since the news broke out, Nigerians have been speaking against the move, with many saying the President cannot continue to spend money on luxury and ask Nigerians to be patient with the government.
Others are saying that even if the government wants to buy new aircrafts for the president and vice president, it should not be at this critical period when most Nigerians find it extremely difficult to feed once a day.
Recall that the Organised Labour and the Federal Government have been at loggerheads over a new national minimum wage.
While Labour is pushing for N250,000, the government said it could only afford N62,000 due to economic constraints.
Now, some persons are questioning the rationale behind the move to acquire new aircrafts when the government said it cannot pay a beggarly sum of N62,000 to workers.
Reacting to the development, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, through its national Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba said there was no moral justification to ask Nigerians to make further sacrifices when the leaders don’t care whether the people survived or perished.
Stressing that the government must live by example by cutting luxury items, he said the citizens have been making sacrifices since the advent of the Tinubu administration on May 29, 2023. He argued that asking Nigerians to make further sacrifices amounts to telling them to commit suicide.