Akpabio to approve request for jets as NASS okays validity of 2023 budget

• Senate justifies new lifespan, Reps passes bill despite opposition
• Aviation expert: Tinubu’s use of chartered aircraft a national embarrassment

Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, yesterday, gave an anticipatory approval to a non-existing request for the purchase of jets for President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima.

It followed widespread insinuations that yesterday’s sitting at the National Assembly would, besides other matters, witness lawmakers’ approval for the purchase of presidential jets for Tinubu and Shettima.

The Senate President affirmed that no request for new jets came before the chamber.

He, however, said the Senate would without delay approve any such request if it came, to avert the fate suffered by the vice president of Malawi and the president of Iran who both died in air crashes.

He declared that the Senate would not fold its hands and watch Tinubu die like the aforementioned.

Akpabio gave the indication at an emergency session, which was convened to consider an extension of the implementation period for the capital components of the N21.83 trillion 2023 budget and those of the N2.17 trillion 2023 supplementary budget.

He also reacted to reports in a section of the media where he was credited with saying that the Senate would approve the purchase of a new presidential jet regardless of the economic hardship faced by Nigerians.

Akpabio said: “We will also take cognisance of the duties of Mr President. If his vehicle is bad, we will repair the vehicle. If his plane is bad, we will approve money for repair of the plane. So, that is not an issue.

“I was in Zanzibar attending the inter-parliamentary union meetings when that information went out, that the Senate President said he will approve a brand new plane for the President, irrespective of whether Nigerians are suffering or not suffering.

“There was never a time such a statement came from me because I’ve never had any correspondence to approve a plane or not approve a plane, and I did not want to answer. But they went further to generate it, and then they went round as if I was saying that I did not care about Nigerians. I did not do this .

“We care about the President. We care about the Nigerian people. We will approve things that will benefit the Nigerian people. We will approve things that will improve the living standards of the people. There is nothing before us. I don’t think you should worry about it.”

The Senate President added: “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 a defective aircraft, in fact, this time it was a helicopter and all that.

“We shouldn’t ever dream and allow such to be our portion. It wouldn’t be. The Senate is very responsible. The National Assembly is very responsible. “We will look into issues that will benefit the governance of the country, irrespective of anticipatory blackmail. They know very well that something like that may come in the future. And if it’s a necessity, the Senate will look into it. But there is nothing like that before us now. So, they can go ahead and blackmail the Senate President, it will not affect me.”

THIS came as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Yemi Adaramodu, justified extension of the lifespan of the 2023 Appropriation Act and the 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Act till December 31, 2024.

The resolution came after a request by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu through an executive bill.

The lifespan of the 2023 Appropriation Act and the 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Act was expected to terminate on Sunday June 30, 2024.

Addressing journalists after the bill was passed Adaramodu said the motive of the Senate was to stop the menace of abandoned projects.

He said: “We want to stop the spate of abandoned projects. We want to ensure that what was captured in the 2023 budget was executed to the letter. It was because of that the Senate decided to tinker with the Appropriation Law, so that money spent on projects not completed would not go down the drain. We want to make sure that all the provisions in the budget were adhered to. That’s why the exercise of today (yesterday) became pertinent.”

ALSO, despite opposition from some lawmakers, the House of Representatives, yesterday, passed bills extending implementation of the 2023 Appropriation Act and the 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Act until December 2024.

The lawmakers expressed reservation about the propriety of giving accelerated passage to the bills.

Recall that the Acts were first extended on December 31, 2023 for a period of three months. The extension was sequel to a request by President Tinubu via a letter to the two chambers of the National Assembly.

Shortly before the expiry date, the President made another request for extension of the two budgets until June 30 2024, which the lawmakers gave speedy passage.

In order to attend to the president’s request, the lawmakers cut short their Sallah holiday to convene in Abuja to beat the June 30 expiry date.

The lawmakers were initially scheduled to resume on July 2.

Debating the bill, Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers), expressed concerns that the country would be running three to four budgets until the end of the 2024 financial cycle, if the request of the President was granted.

He said: “We understand the implications from the letter we received. It is mainly on capital projects, and we cannot ask that capital projects should be abandoned. We cannot deny our country the benefits of capital projects.

“In principle, we might not oppose it but in terms of procedure, I feel a little bit worried. A situation where we have three budgets running concurrently is not good. This will even mean four budgets running simultaneously.”

He recommended that the House step down the bill and go back to the drawing board by moving the uncompleted projects in the 2023 supplementary budget to the 2024 supplementary budget.

Chinda’s suggestions received applause from his colleagues but sparked a robust discussion among members.

The speaker appealed to the lawmakers to reconsider the President’s request. But this fell on deaf ears.

He said: “We are aware that the supplementary budget of 2023 is largely security related, and it is the intention of Mr President to secure Nigerians. I want us to please urge our members to support this, to enhance the security of our country.”

Supporting the minority leader, Doguwa, said the move by the House to extend the validity of the 2023 supplementary budget was legal, but it had never happened in the history of the National Assembly.

He said: “Whatever we are doing, we must be accountable to the people. Each and every member here is representing a community and when we are discussing matters of the budget, we should call a spade a spade.

“I agree with the submission made by the minority leader. This has nothing to do with the APC. It has never happened. When you have something unexpected, like this, then we should expect that people will ask questions whether overtly or covertly.

“Even if it is legal, it is unexpected. We have two budgets, and a supplementary budget. It is legal but that moral aspect, for us as a House, I will appeal we allow this to go for now but the message has to be sent that the government should do the needful.”

Aware that his colleagues were not ready to shift their grounds, the Speaker called for a closed-door session to allow lawmakers to address the issues.

Following their deliberations, the lawmakers dissolved into the Committee of Supply to debate the various clauses in the money bills, all of which were carried.

Subsequently, the House reverted to plenary where the bills were read for the third time and passed.

MEANWHILE, an aviation expert, Dr Godwin Emmanuel, has expressed concerns over recent developments that caused President Bola Tinubu to travel abroad on chartered flights.

Emmanuel described the public shame that befell Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, as its president flew abroad for engagements in chartered flights, as unquantifiable. He urged the Presidency to prepare a supplementary budget with a view to providing new aircraft for Tinubu and Shettima, and pass it to the National Assembly for legislative approval without delay.

Speaking in Lagos yesterday, Emmanuel said President Tinubu’s trip on chartered flights reduced his personality, image, and security, as Nigerians could not guarantee the safety of a hired aircraft.

He said: “Nigeria must not toy with the safety of the President. It is on record that most of the planes in the Presidential Air Fleet are already old, and some of them are in deplorable conditions.”

He said a 23-year-old Gulfstream GV is reportedly due for a major engine overhaul, while a Falcon 7x, which is 13 years old, is undergoing C check, as two of the three engines require an overhaul.

“Nigerians must also note that the 19-year-old B 737 is also undergoing major maintenance. It is a national shame and disgrace that the Presidency has no functional aircraft.”

Emmanuel said it is on record that the President cannot use the aircraft in the fleet for his foreign trips to woo investors, build goodwill, and communicate with the external world in Nigeria’s interest.

“Of late, the Vice President, who was going to the United States of America, had to shelve the trip because his plane developed technical faults. The President’s wife, Oluremi Tinubu, suffered a similar fate. This is a terrible development.

“God forbid that bad things should happen to the President, Vice President, or their spouses. The President and Vice President represent the image, integrity, and symbol of the Nigerian government, and we should save ourselves from this shame by ensuring that they have functional aircraft,” he said.

From John Akubo, Azimazi Momoh Jimoh, Sodiq Omolaoye (Abuja) and Azeez Olorunlomeru (Abeokuta)

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