THE presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in last year’s general elections, Mr. Peter Obi, has described the seizure of three aircraft in presidential fleet as yet another embarrassing issues exposing the Nigerian failed leadership and its attitude to the rule of law.
Recall that a French court grounded the jets due to a contract dispute between the Ogun State Government and a Chinese company, Zhongshan, over alleged breach of contract.
Obi said the new development has exposed multiple dimensions to the country’s leadership failure and its insensitivity to the plight of the growing poor, adding that the fact that the federal government went ahead with the purchase of a new jet, despite the cacophonous cry against the purchase purchase at this time when the people are going through a horrifying economic hardship shows the insensitivity of this administration.
“Added to it is the embarrassing aspect of our country’s presidential jets being held for contractual breaches arising from yet another dimension of inadequate leadership tidiness.
“I have been loud in my demand over time that the government at all levels should be accountable to the people, meaning that they must be very transparent in all their dealings.
“Until a court in France prohibits Nigeria from moving or selling these three jets, Nigerians had no iota of information about both the buying and selling of these aircraft. It has been done in secrecy.
“Federal Government property, which belongs to the people, is being managed as a personal family asset. Paying as much as $100million for a presidential jet for a country that is the poverty capital of the world and has more out-of-school children, with over 40 per cent food inflation, is the height of lack of concern for the people’s feelings.
“This incident has also opened up an aspect of indiscipline that is copiously embedded in our country, which is the abuse and disrespect for the rule of law.”
Obi asked rhetorically: “To what extent did the Ogun State Government follow its agreement with the Chinese firm?
After the UK court ruling that prohibited some Nigeria building in Liverpool, what did both Ogun State and Federal Government do before the French court action?”
He challenged the federal government to come clean and transparent on the matter by telling Nigerians how the country got to this latest international mess.
