Former Minister of Solid Minerals, Oby Ezekwesili has condemned the purchase of a new presidential jet in the wake of the food, hunger and hardship crisis sweeping across the country.
On Monday, the presidency confirmed the purchase of a new Airbus A330 to replace the 19-year-old Boeing B737-700 purchased under former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
President Tinubu on Monday, travelled to Paris, France inside the new Airbus- one of the jets recently seized by Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co, a Chinese firm.
The Presidential jet was earlier released by the Chinese firm, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co., on Friday to enable Tinubu to use it to France.
Reacting to the development, Ezekwesili who was a guest on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily said that President Tinubu, the executive, the national assembly, and all the political classes are against Nigerians to have considered the purchase of a new aircraft as a priority despite the economic crisis currently ravaging the country.
The former minister said politicians were playing with the intelligence of Nigerians by trying to justify the purchase of a presidential jet.
She said, “In everything that we have heard justifying the basis for a new craft- and by the way, I am absolutely upset that these fellows will dare to play with the intelligence of the Nigerian public.
“The executive, the president, the presidency, the national assembly, I think they decided that they are the bandits. They are the bandits. The political class has decided that they are the bandits against the people of Nigeria.
“Because I don’t see how it is feasible that the topmost priority of a government that has this level of biting hunger in the land, this level of poverty, where people are dropping into poverty per minuite would consider the purchase of a befitting aircraft for the president.”
“I don’t see how it is feasible that the topmost priority of the government that has the level of biting hunger in the land and poverty, is to consider the purchase of a befitting aircraft for the president, construction of a N20 billion house for the vice-president, purchase of all kinds of funny looking cars in the fleet of national assembly members and executive,” Ezekwesili added.
The activist said she has the “moral authority” to criticise the current government because “I served this country. They want everything about what I earned? They can find it in their folders”.
“As a minister, they have something called ministers’ imprest. My permanent secretary will tell you that I did not touch a dime,” she said.
“So when people say ‘you were in government’. I was in a sane government. I wasn’t in a government that watches women scream: ‘We’re hungry, we haven’t eaten’.”
According to her, the economy has worsened since Tinubu came into office in May 2023.
“All the data and economic indicators show clearly that they have not done a good job of the economy.
“They have worsened it. They could have avoided the fiscal recklessness and rascality that we see.
“If you are a Nigerian, you should be vexed at this government. All we have seen this government since it came into office is fiscal profligacy.
On the 2023 presidential elections, she noted that “What we had in 2023 was not an election. There was nothing credible about the presidential election and the outcomes that followed.
“It was very clear that the concept of smash it, grab it run with it was thrown to hunters. A competitive democracy was not what we followed.
“And it is becoming clear as the days go by that we are victims of absolute collapse of our institutions. And so whether it is INEC or the judiciary, we saw that there was a complete denigration of our institutional mechanisms.
“If we take on the economic side, it is very clear that we are already in trouble. But guess what? The individuals who are today saying that we were the next trouble, were part of those who said to us that we were doing well and that there was no reason for any contrary opinion on the state of economic management in the eight years of their predecessor. So, they are very complicit in what is happening to the economy of this country.”
Listen to full interview below:
