Presidential jet controversy: What Akpabio said at senate plenary
Presidential jet controversy: What Akpabio said at senate plenary
About a fortnight ago, the Nigerian media widely reported that the house of representatives committee on national security and intelligence recommended, in a report, that the federal government should purchase new aircraft for the use of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima. The house had in May mandated the committee to investigate the conditions of the aircraft in the presidential fleet. That assignment followed a motion earlier debated by the house.
Since that house committee’s report was made public, the issue of acquiring new aircraft for Tinubu and Shettima became a controversy and a running story in the mainstream media and social media. That is normal. But it became a mischief when the president of the senate, Godswill Obot Akpabio, was unfairly dragged into the controversy.
Akpabio was reported to have said things that he did not say. And when he tried to correct the falsehood, the harder he tried, the more vested interests twisted his explanations. Their purpose is clear: mischief.
Let’s go back to Thursday 27th June, 2024, when both the senate and house of representatives reconvened to begin a new legislative year of the 10th assembly. That plenary was held six days earlier than the date scheduled for the resumption of the lawmakers. The resumption was brought forward primarily for the national assembly to consider a request by the executive arm for an extension of the implementation of the 2023 Appropriation Act and the 2023 Supplementary Budget, which life spans were to elapse on Sunday, 30th of June, 2024.
But some media outfits wrongly speculated that the plenary was called ahead of schedule for the national assembly to approve the purchase of new aircraft for Tinubu and Shettima.
normal for the media to speculate. But you must admit your error if events prove your speculation to be wrong. Regrettably, some of the leading national dailies involved refused to admit that they goofed. Instead, they tried to justify their error with falsehood.
At the said plenary, the chairman of appropriation committee, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, spotted an online report with the headline: “Presidential Jet: Senate Holds Emergency Session to Consider the Supplementary Budget.” He drew the attention of the senate to the report and requested permission to read out its first paragraph.
It reads: “The Senate held an emergency session to consider President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Supplementary Appropriation for 2024 fiscal year which includes funding of acquisition of a new Presidential Jet.”
The senator said he was embarrassed by the report because it is false. He then moved a motion for the reporter of the story to be invited for his explanation before the appropriate committeeof the senate. The senate unanimously granted the prayer.
The leader of the senate, Opeyemi Bamidele, had earlier seen a similar report in the social media and also drew the attention of the senate to it. In response to the observations made by Senator Bamidele, the senate president narrated his own experience to his distinguished colleagues.
However, Akpabio’s intervention immediately became another issue in the media. He was largely misrepresented. Most of the headlines did not match the stories on what he said. In some cases, the reports were embellished and took Akpabio’s contribution out of context.
shouldn’t ever dream and allow such to be our portion. It won’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. Get the words, anticipatory blackmail. They know very well that something like that may come in future and if it is a necessity, the Senate will look into it. But there is nothing like that before us now. So they can go ahead to anticipate and blackmail the Senate President, it will not affect me.”
Awoniyi, media aide to senate president, writes from Abuja
