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.
It is 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 colleague Senators.
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.
The comments made by the Senate leaders at the Plenary were basically the same. That no request for the purchase of new aircraft for the presidential fleet was before the Senate. That in the event of any such request in future, the National Assembly would look into it. That blackmail and propaganda by vested interests would not distract lawmakers from their statutory responsibilities.
Alas!, these comments curiously gave birth to headlines such as: “No Amount of Blackmail Will Stop Senate from Approving New Presidential Jet – Akpabio,” “Blackmail Can’t Stop Presidential Jet Approval – Senate,” “Akpabio Insists on Approving Purchase of New Aircraft for Tinubu, says No Blackmail will Stop Decision,” “New Presidential Jet: Tinubu’s Wish, Senate’s Command – Akpabio.”
To put the record straight, the verbatim recording of the remarks of the Senate President and Senate Leader is hereby provided to enable readers ascertain the truth and determine if those screaming headlines captured the comments of the Senators at the Plenary on Thursday 27th June, 2024:
Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele
“Mr President, this Senate is aware of some insinuations in a section of the media to the extent that the President of the Senate, leading this Senate, either had, at one time, indicated that we had a request that the purchase of a new plane be approved for Mr President and that President of the Senate had indicated that regardless of what Nigerians were going through, that would be approved. The Senate is also aware that Mr President tried to clarify this issue, that at no point did he say that. Then another section of the media picked on that again to say the President of the Senate, leading the 10th Senate, has said whatever Mr President likes, he should go and do, this Senate will not approve the purchase of a plane.
“And as we sat here today, a section of the Social Media has also been circulating that we had gone into executive session to discuss Presidential request for a new plane and how we are going to approve it. Mr President, the essence of my saying this is just to make it clear and to alert Nigerians that there is the presence of the fifth columnist and some other propagandists who are doing everything possible to destabilize this country and also destabilize the parliament.
“Mr President, I say for the record as the leader of this Senate, that there is no request before this Senate as of yet. So there couldn’t have been a basis for us to debate whether we are going to approve or not. It had never been discussed either on the floor of this Senate or among individual senators or the executive session. There is no such request. If the request comes, it is not about Mr President of the Senate alone. It is for 469 elected representatives of the Nigerian people to discuss and take a position – 360 in the House of Representatives, 109 in the Senate. But as we speak Mr President, there is no such request and I just want all of us to be clear about this.”
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio
“It is not good for us to run the Senate by answering people in the Social Media, because the social media is garbage in, garbage out. I was in Zanzibar, attending Inter- Parliamentary Union meeting when that information went out, that the Senate President has said that he would approve a brand new plane for the President irrespective of whether there is suffering or no suffering. There was never a time such statement came from me because I have never had any correspondence to approve a plane or not approve a plane.
“I did not want to answer but they went further to generate it as if I was saying that I did not care about the Nigerian people. 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 standard of the people. At the same time, we will also take cognizance 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 the repair of the plane. So that is not an issue. There is nothing before us. I don’t think we should bother about it.
“Somebody called me and he said that he was quoting from BBC, that what I said at Senator Tahir Monguno’s house, that the statement was false and should be disregarded. That I was saying that I would not approve. That is what you may call anticipatory blackmail. The purveyors of the story know very well that maybe there is problem with the Presidential fleet and that where they will go to will be the Parliament. And so they are now trying to do anticipatory blackmail, to tell us if they bring it, do not look into it. I think we should ignore them and focus on what we are doing here.
“I have read the President’s correspondences to us, there was nothing touching on 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 defective plane and you hear stories such a as the death of the President of Iran as a result of defective craft, in fact this time it was helicopter, and all that, we 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, wrote in from Abuja.
A total of 2,659 members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) across Nigeria, have been pre-qualified for the final phase of the NNPC Foundation Business Pitching Exercise that is scheduled to hold from July 2nd to 10th, 2024. The exercise, according to a statement by the spokesperson of the NNPC Limited, Olufemi Soneye, is an integral part of the NNPC Foundation’s Financial Literacy Program for Nigerian youths that witnessed the engagement of over 284,000 corps members, who underwent rigorous training and assessments. Soneye quoted the Managing Director of NNPC Foundation, Mrs. Emmanuella Arukwe as saying that the selection criteria will focus on the feasibility and sustainability of the business idea, market relevance, competitive edge and innovation, scalability, potential impact on the community and the entrepreneurial spirit of the corps members. “We have identified these 2,659 individuals who are ready to present their business ideas to a distinguished panel of assessors.” Emmanuella Arukwe said that the Financial Literacy Program is aligned with the NNPC Foundation’s mission of equipping young Nigerian graduates with necessary skills for personal and professional development. “By educating corps members on financial management and entrepreneurship, the program aims to empower them to become economically self-sufficient and to contribute positively to society.” Soneye said that during the pitching exercise, projects that standout will receive startup packs, business advisory services and opportunities to scale their ventures. This is even as the management of NNPC Foundation has facilitated a 50 percent reduction in the registration fee for corps members’ businesses with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). He said that the NNPC Foundation is the Corporate Social Responsibility arm of NNPC Limited. According to him, its initiatives focus on enhancing Nigeria’s socio-economic development through targeted interventions in education, health, the environment, access to energy and youth empowerment to foster economic empowerment, promote entrepreneurship, and support sustainable development across the nation.
Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo has said that the state government is ready to meet all requirements for the establishment of a Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone (SAPZ) in the state. Governor Ododo, who hosted a delegation from the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security that were in the state on an assessment tour of the proposed project sites, said that the state government has already allocated 254 hectares of land in Ukpake, AjaoKuta local government area for the purpose of the special agro-industrial processing zone. He said that the decision to establish the agro-industrial processing zone in the area is due to its strategic location and its proximity to essential resources such as water, electricity, gas, railway line linking Kogi and a number of states and the proposed international cargo airport in Adogo which is a few kilometers from the proposed site of the agro-industrial facility. Governor Ododo assured the delegation that the State government will do everything possible to provide the enabling environment for the project. The governor stressed that the project is in line with his administration’s policy on industrialization aimed at guaranteeing food security through investment in agriculture. He said that such investment in the agricultural value chain will increase productivity, provide access to market for farmers and provide job opportunities for the teeming population of the state. The Governor commended the African Development Bank for the initiative which he said would enhance job creation and guarantee food security in Kogi state and Nigeria at large. In his remarks, Dr. Bashir Ibrahim Gaya who led the AfDB delegation said that the assessment tour is intended to verify the readiness of states to be selected in the second phase for establishment of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) in Nigeria. He said that project is being implemented in 18 countries accross Africa. He said that the first phase in Nigeria, covering seven states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, has commenced. He said that the team was in Kogi to assess the State’s readiness as a possible beneficiary in the second phase of the project. In their separate remarks, the state commissioner for finance, budget and economic planning, Asiwaju Ashiru Idris gave assurance of the political will of the state government to see to the realisation of the project, even as his counterpart in the ministry of agriculture and food security, Timothy Ojomah said that the proposed agro-industrial processing facility will be supported by adequate and reliable supply of raw materials and semi-processed agricultural produce from the state Agricultural Transformation Centres in Alape, Anyigba and Osara. The Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone is expected to process maize, cassava, rice, palm oil, cashew, sugarcane and fish, in line with the commitment of Governor Ododo to transforming Kogi State into an agro-industrial hub. Special adviser to the governor on media and publicity, Ismaila Isah, in a statement today, June 28, said that the project is an initiative of the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and the Kogi State Government. The project is expected to attract significant foreign and domestic private sector investment to the State.
Governor Ademola Adeleke has assured Muslim Community in the State that there is no plan to demolish Mosque in the ongoing Ilesa road dualization. The Governor’s spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, quoted the Governor as saying that his earlier assurance to the effect that the Central Mosque would not be affected by the road dualization, during the ‘Ipade Imole’ remains unchanged. “Governor Adeleke has received the plea of the Ijesa Muslim leaders and has directed that fresh assurance be given that the mosque is not billed for demolition in the ongoing road dualisation. “The muslim ummah should not entertain any fear as the mosque remains intact. Only the extended canopies will be affected, not the main building as earlier indicated. “The Governor has also directed officials of the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure to interface with the Muslim leaders on the subject matter.” While commending stakeholders for actively supporting the ongoing dualisation at Ilesa, the governor said that he is committed to the implementation of the multi-billion naira Infrastructure upgrade with an eye on deep local content and active community engagement and collaboration.
The National Universities Commission (NUC) has granted accreditation to 42 academic programmes run by the Federal University Lokoja (FUL) in Kogi State. The Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Olayemi Akinwumi, who made this known in Lokoja today, June 28, said that the news of the programme accreditation was conveyed to the university via a letter signed by the acting Director of Accreditation, Engr. Abraham Chundusu on behalf of the Acting NUC Executive Secretary, Chris Maiyaki. The Vice Chancellor said that accreditation was sequel to the October/November 2023 accreditation exercise which has now been released to the University. He gave the list of the newly accredited programmes which cut across different Departments and Faculties to include: Administration, Accounting, Banking and Finance, Business Administration and Public Administration. Others are Arts, Arabic, Archaeology, Christian Religious Studies, Islamic Religious Studies, Linguistics, Music, Philosophy, Theatre Arts, Communication and Media Studies. Others are Mass Communications, Computing, Computer Science, Business Education, Education Biology, Education Chemistry, Education Computer, Education Economics, Education English Language, Education Geography and Education History. He said that others are Education Mathematics, Education Physics. Education Political Science, Guidance and Counseling, Integrated Science, Library and Information Science. Social Studies, Science, Biochemistry, Biology and Biotechnology. Others are Botany, Chemistry, Geology, Industrial Chemistry, Mathematics, Microbiology, Physics, Statistics, Zoology, Social Science and Sociology. The Vice Chancellor thanked the NUC, a supervisory agency of the Federal Government, saddled with the statutory mandate of accrediting academic programmes in all Nigerian Universities, for the accreditation of the 42 programmes. “We are glad that all the 42 programmes assessed by NUC (most for the first time) in the last year’s exercise have been accredited. “This is because upon my assumption of office in 2021, I inherited most of these new programmes established by my predecessor which were not resource verified by NUC or recognized by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). “I then took it upon myself to ensure that these programmes undergo resource verification by the supervisory bodies as the first step and prerequisite before presenting them also for subsequent accreditation as government is a continuum. “This was in spite of the daunting challenges of sourcing for the huge financial resources needed to ensure a smooth and successful resource verification of such a large number of new programmes inherited. “Indeed, this is a milestone received with great joy by members of the University community, particularly the 400L students whose hope and chances of graduating this year and mobilized for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme were uncertain before now.” He said that the university had earlier secured the re-accreditation of the existing programmes in the Faculties of Arts and Social Sciences, while the administration, in line with its five-year vision plan, went ahead to also establish new programmes including Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing Science, Medical Laboratory, Engineering, Law, Agriculture, Educational Management and Planning, among others. Professor Akinwumi expressed profound appreciation to the NUC, members of Senate, Staff and Students of the University for their cooperation and tireless efforts that led to thw remarkable achievements.
President Bola Tinubu and his predecessor, ex President Muhammadu Buhari have sent sympathy messages to the Minister of State for Police Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim over the death of her mother, Hajiya Aisha Sulaiman-Danladi. In his condolence message, President Tinubu said that losing a loved one, especially a mother, is a harrowing experience. The President advised the Minister to take solace in the eternal legacies of the deceased and honour her by immortalizing her example of service and kindness to all. The President prayed for the repose of the soul of the deceased and comfort for her family. Ex President Buhari on his part, recalled that the minister was a former Director General, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and Federal Commissioner for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons under his administration. Buhari noted, in a statement by his spokesperson, Malam Garba Shehu, that late Hajiya Aisha’s “gentle nature, commitment to family values, integrity in public life and contributions to society are reflected in the personality and work of her children.” He prayed that Allah would repose her soul and grant her Aljannah. The former president urged the children she left behind to uphold the “decency and decorum” exemplified by their mother.
A Kogi State High Court has established a case of human rights violation on the banishment of dethroned traditional ruler from his kingdom. The court, today, June 27, in a ruling on the dethronement and banishment of Obobanyi of Ihima, Dr. Samuel Adai Onimisi said that banishing him from his kingdom after being dethroned violated his constitutional rights to stay anywhere he wants to. Dr. Samuel Adai Onimisi, the Obobanyi of Emani, was one of the three Kogi traditional rulers removed in January this year by the then Governor Yahaya Bello and banished to Doko town in Lavun Local Government Area of Niger State. The Governor said that the title of Obobanyi of Ihima which reads on the promotion letter, upgrading the stool to first-class status, “was done without cognisance to the fact that the title; Obobanyi of Ihima is a subject of litigation and the court of law is yet to arrive at the possible final decision, as such, the Government has however received several petitions, calling attention to the need to revert and maintain status quo, until the court of law decides. “To this end, the stool is hereby reverted to “Obobanyi of Emani” as the present occupant remains deposed.” The High Court, today, upheld the dethronement of Dr. Samuel Adai Onimisi, saying that the State government followed due process, having issued query to him, constituted panel of enquiry which indicted him. The Court held that the joinder of the five clans rejected cannot impact either positively or negatively on the case. The Court however rejected the banishment, saying that it conflicts with freedom of movement residency granted by the constitution. “He can stay anywhere, but as a private individual like you not as King.”
Immediate past Governor of Kogi State was absent today, June 27, at the Federal High Court in Abuja where he was billed to enter his plea to the charge on a case of alleged corruption when he was in office, brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Instead, the former Governor wrote a letter to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, pleading to be allowed to face his trial in Lokoja, the Kogi state capital. Yahaya Bello, in the letter by his team of lawyers, led by Abdulwahab Mohammed (SAN), said that only the Lokoja Division of the high court has the territorial jurisdiction to handle the allegations that were raised against him by the EFCC. At the resumed proceeding in the matter today, June 27, one of the lawyers who announced appearance for him, Adeola Adedipe, (SAN), brought the attention of trial Justice Emeka Nwite to the letter his client wrote to the CJ. Addressing the court after the matter was called, Adedipe said: “My lord, after the proceedings of the last adjourned date, I went back and gave a report of what happened in court to our team. “However, I was made to understand that a letter had been written on behalf of the defendant to the honourable Chief Judge of the Federal High Court requesting in substance, that this matter be administratively transferred to the Federal High Court, Lokoja Judicial Division, which we believe have territorial jurisdiction to handle this matter. “That letter was received at the Chief Judge’s Chambers and the office of the honourable CJ wrote the prosecution team through Mr.’s Iseoluwa Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), on June 13, notifying him that administrative steps has been activated, whereof he was directed to provide a response to the request for transfer of the matter. “My lord, as of this morning, I am not aware whether there has been a response by the prosecution team in compliance to the directive of the CJ. “We are also not in receipt of any decision that has been made on this request by the CJ. “I am also aware that this administrative directive of the CJ has been formally communicated to this court. “We have filed an affidavit wherein we attached two documents referencing the details that I have just highlighted. “My duty is first to the court. As of the moment, I am not urging anything from the court, but just to present the facts as they were.” On his part, the EFCC, through its counsel, Kemi Pinhero (SAN), urged the court to compel the defence lawyer to explain why the defendant was not in court, despite an undertaking he made on June 13 to ensure his presence in court for arraignment. Pinhero,) prayed the court to dismiss “the story of the defence lawyer as dilatory and a further attempt to treat this court with scorn.” He said that the letter to the CJ did not discharge the undertaking that was made by the senior lawyers representing the defendant. The EFCC counsel argued that even where a petition is forwarded against a judge to the National Judicial Council, (NJC), it does not stop proceedings on cases pending before the judge. Pinhero therefore applied for the court to invite the two senior lawyers representing the former governor to show cause why they should not be dealt with for contemptuous conduct. Source: The Eagle Online
Governor Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno State and two other Northern Nigerian Governors, Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State and Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa State have joined forces for massive agricultural activities that will ensure abundant food. Information reaching us at Greenbarge Reporters online newspaper said that the three leaders recently visited a tractor manufacturing plant in Pakistan as part of their strategic move to enhance their states’ agricultural sectors. It was learnt that during the visit, which focused on learning from post-insurgency and disaster management experiences, the governors explored the possibility of acquiring advanced machinery to modernise agricultural practices in their respective states. It was gathered that the delegation engaged in discussions at the plant to facilitate the procurement of cutting-edge equipment aimed at revolutionising agriculture in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe State. The Director-General, Press and Media Affairs to Governor Buni, confirmed in a statement that the governors are steadfast in their commitment to leveraging improved agricultural techniques as a vital part of their post-insurgency recovery plans. The Director General, Mamman Mohammed said that the collaborative initiative of the three governors demonstrates their shared dedication to utilizing agriculture as a driving force for sustainable development and economic rejuvenation within their states. Source: Neptune Prime.
“Listening keenly to the people of Kenya who have said loudly that they want nothing to do with this finance bill 2024, I concede. And therefore, I will not sign the 2024 finance bill, and it shall subsequently be withdrawn.” These were the words of President William Ruto in a televised address with lawmakers after 23 Kenyans were feared killed by security agents during violent protest against the tax hike. President Ruto said that he would now start a dialogue with Kenyan youth, without going into details, and work on austerity measures, beginning with cuts to the budget of the presidency to make up the difference in the country’s finances. He said that the loss of lives on Tuesday was “very unfortunate.” Even if Ruto’s concession manages to see off the immediate threat of more unrest, it still leaves him caught between the competing demands of his hard-pressed citizens and of lenders such as the IMF, which is urging the government to cut deficits to obtain more financing. On Tuesday, June 25, police opened fire on crowds who massed around parliament and later broke into the senate chamber and national assembly, minutes after lawmakers had voted through the tax measures and sent them on to the president. The Nation newspaper, Kenya, documented protests in at least 35 of Kenya’s 47 counties, from big cities to rural areas, even in President Ruto’s hometown of Eldoret in his ethnic Kalenjin heartland. At least 23 people were killed across the East African country and another 30 were being treated for bullet wounds, the Kenya Medical Association said yesterday. Medical officials in Nairobi said scores had been injured. Heavily armed police patrolled the streets of the capital Nairobi, which were quieter than usual on Wednesday. The protests began as an online outpouring of anger by young, tech-savvy Kenyans at proposed taxes on bread and diapers and evolved into a nationwide movement calling for the scrapping of the entire finance bill including the taxes. Thousands took to the streets of Nairobi and several other cities during two days of protests last week as an online movement gathered momentum. While the young Kenyans in the current demonstrations have no official leader and have loudly urged the political opposition figures that have typically organised protests to stay away, some of Ruto’s main rivals could not hide their delight with the president’s climb-down. “Self-preservation has kicked in,” opposition senator Edwin Sifuna posted on X. Lawmakers have already removed some tax hikes from the final version of the finance bill on Tuesday, including ones on bread and cooking oil, but inserted others in an effort to avoid a budget gap. Vice President Rigathi Gachagua asked young people to call off the protests to avoid any further loss of life and destruction of property, and blamed the intelligence services for giving the government poor advice. “There would have been no mayhem, but they slept on the job,” Gachagua said in a speech, calling on the head of the National Intelligence Service to resign. Protesters were defiant, repeating calls for President Ruto to step down and vowing further action in the streets. Source: ThisDay.
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Mrs. Emmanuella
Fake News Merchants, Presidential Jet, And Senate President, Akpabio, By Ola Awoniyi
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.
It is 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 colleague Senators.
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.
The comments made by the Senate leaders at the Plenary were basically the same. That no request for the purchase of new aircraft for the presidential fleet was before the Senate. That in the event of any such request in future, the National Assembly would look into it. That blackmail and propaganda by vested interests would not distract lawmakers from their statutory responsibilities.
Alas!, these comments curiously gave birth to headlines such as: “No Amount of Blackmail Will Stop Senate from Approving New Presidential Jet – Akpabio,” “Blackmail Can’t Stop Presidential Jet Approval – Senate,” “Akpabio Insists on Approving Purchase of New Aircraft for Tinubu, says No Blackmail will Stop Decision,” “New Presidential Jet: Tinubu’s Wish, Senate’s Command – Akpabio.”
To put the record straight, the verbatim recording of the remarks of the Senate President and Senate Leader is hereby provided to enable readers ascertain the truth and determine if those screaming headlines captured the comments of the Senators at the Plenary on Thursday 27th June, 2024:
Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele
“Mr President, this Senate is aware of some insinuations in a section of the media to the extent that the President of the Senate, leading this Senate, either had, at one time, indicated that we had a request that the purchase of a new plane be approved for Mr President and that President of the Senate had indicated that regardless of what Nigerians were going through, that would be approved. The Senate is also aware that Mr President tried to clarify this issue, that at no point did he say that. Then another section of the media picked on that again to say the President of the Senate, leading the 10th Senate, has said whatever Mr President likes, he should go and do, this Senate will not approve the purchase of a plane.
“And as we sat here today, a section of the Social Media has also been circulating that we had gone into executive session to discuss Presidential request for a new plane and how we are going to approve it. Mr President, the essence of my saying this is just to make it clear and to alert Nigerians that there is the presence of the fifth columnist and some other propagandists who are doing everything possible to destabilize this country and also destabilize the parliament.
“Mr President, I say for the record as the leader of this Senate, that there is no request before this Senate as of yet. So there couldn’t have been a basis for us to debate whether we are going to approve or not. It had never been discussed either on the floor of this Senate or among individual senators or the executive session. There is no such request. If the request comes, it is not about Mr President of the Senate alone. It is for 469 elected representatives of the Nigerian people to discuss and take a position – 360 in the House of Representatives, 109 in the Senate. But as we speak Mr President, there is no such request and I just want all of us to be clear about this.”
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio
“It is not good for us to run the Senate by answering people in the Social Media, because the social media is garbage in, garbage out. I was in Zanzibar, attending Inter- Parliamentary Union meeting when that information went out, that the Senate President has said that he would approve a brand new plane for the President irrespective of whether there is suffering or no suffering. There was never a time such statement came from me because I have never had any correspondence to approve a plane or not approve a plane.
“I did not want to answer but they went further to generate it as if I was saying that I did not care about the Nigerian people. 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 standard of the people. At the same time, we will also take cognizance 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 the repair of the plane. So that is not an issue. There is nothing before us. I don’t think we should bother about it.
“Somebody called me and he said that he was quoting from BBC, that what I said at Senator Tahir Monguno’s house, that the statement was false and should be disregarded. That I was saying that I would not approve. That is what you may call anticipatory blackmail. The purveyors of the story know very well that maybe there is problem with the Presidential fleet and that where they will go to will be the Parliament. And so they are now trying to do anticipatory blackmail, to tell us if they bring it, do not look into it. I think we should ignore them and focus on what we are doing here.
“I have read the President’s correspondences to us, there was nothing touching on 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 defective plane and you hear stories such a as the death of the President of Iran as a result of defective craft, in fact this time it was helicopter, and all that, we 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, wrote in from Abuja.