Did the Presidency act unlawfully without following due process in the use of an aircraft in the Presidential fleet by one of his own daughters, Hanan?
Hanan arrived the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa International Airport, Bauchi on Thursday, January 9, and was received by the First Lady of Bauchi state and other government officials.
Reports said that an emir had organised a Durbar to give the president’s daughter the opportunity to take photographs of the traditional event, Bauchi architecture and other cultural sites in the state.
Many are appalled at the brazen use of the national asset, but Presidential spokesman, Mr. Garba Shehu, disagrees, along with other commentators on social media.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Femi Falana, opposes Shehu’spositon, while a natural opponent , the Peoples Democratic Party thinks President Muhammadu Buhari should apologise to the country for the malfeasance.
Falana said that the private use of the Presidential Jet by members of President Buhari’s immediate family, is not in accordance with law.
Falana in a statement on Sunday urged President Buhari to stop members of his family from using the aircraft within the presidential fleet.
The scholar noted that the “official policy” of the federal government “does not authorise the children of the President to use the presidential jets to attend to private social functions”.
He added that there is no precedent whatsoever for such privatisation of the presidency of Nigeria.
Falana further stressed that at the inception of his government, President Buhari had promised to reduce the cost of maintaining aircraft in the presidential fleet, which according to him, stands at N8.5 billion in the 2020 budget.
“On October 27, 2016, the Presidency confirmed the newspaper reports of the planned sale of the two Presidential aircraft, a Falcon 7x executive jet and Hawker 4000.
“In a press statement issued by the Presidency through the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu the Nigerian people were informed that President Buhari had directed that the aircraft in the Presidential air fleet be reduced to cut down on waste.
“The presidential spokesman reminded Nigerians that President Buhari was elected in 2015 on a commitment to crack down on the country’s systemic corruption, hence downsizing the outlandish presidential fleet had been among his campaign pledges.
“‘In particular, Mr. Shehu had said inter alia:
“‘When he campaigned to be President, the then APC candidate Muhammadu Buhari, if you recall, promised to look at the presidential air fleet with a view to cutting down on waste’.
“His directive to a government committee on this assignment is that he liked to see a compact and reliable aircraft for the safe airlift of the President, the Vice President, and other government officials that go on special missions.”
“President Buhari’s directive on the use of the presidential fleet which was adopted by the Federal Government was popularly acclaimed by Nigerians.
“Since then the national assembly has ensured that the annual Appropriation Bills enacted into law have made provision for the maintenance of the aircraft in the presidential fleet in line with the official policy.
“In the 2020 Appropriation Act the sum of N8.5 billion was earmarked for the maintenance of the aircraft in the presidential fleet,” Falana explained.
Falana went on to argue that when on January 10, 2020, one of the daughters of President Buhari was reported to have travelled from Abuja to Bauchi in a presidential jet for a private engagement, it was in utter breach of the official policy of the Federal Government.
Garba Shehu insists the wife and children of the President have the right to use the presidential jet.
“It’s true that a member of the First family was flown to Bauchi … on a mission duly authorised. It wasn’t an impromptu or improper trip because it followed normal procedure. The Presidency informed the National Security Adviser of the mission who in turn informed the commander of the Presidential Air fleet.
“The normal practice in existence for a long time is that the Presidential Air fleet is available to the President and the first family and four others. These four are the vice president, the Senate president, the speaker and any other person(s) authorised by the president.”
Reacting to the presidency’s claim, Falana stated that instead of apologising for the breach of the official policy, the Presidency has defended the use of the presidential jet for the private visit of a member of the first family.
He said the presidency is incorrect as it is at variance with the official policy of the Federal Government, adding that the official policy does not authorise the children of the President to use the presidential jets to attend to private social functions.
“In fact, there is no precedent whatsoever for such privatisation of the presidency of Nigeria. Having publicly declared that his administration would maintain “a compact and reliable aircraft for the safe airlift of the President, the Vice President and other government officials that go on special missions” President Buhari is estopped from allowing members of the first family to use the jets for their private affairs,” Falana opined.
The rights advocate stated that the so-called ‘normal practice’ of using the aircraft in the presidential fleet by members of the first family to attend to private engagements is not backed by any extant law or official policy.
According to Falana, the use of the aircraft in the presidential fleet by the Senate President, House Speaker and Chief Justice of Nigeria has not been approved by the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission which is the statutory body empowered by the Constitution and the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission Act to determine the remuneration and allowances of all political office holders in Nigeria.
The Senior Advocate was of the opinion that a country which is said to be the headquarters of the greatest number of poverty-stricken people in the world cannot afford to waste billions of Naira on the use of presidential aircraft and the hiring of commercial jets by state governors that are owing workers several months of unpaid salaries.
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party was inspiring. It said: “Our party believes that the president should apologize for approving that his daughter is using the presidential jet for the sole purpose of allegedly taking photos during a Durbar event in Bauchi state.
“Perhaps, the Buhari presidency has forgotten that it is common knowledge that the presidential fleet can only be authorized by the president, the first lady, the vice president, the president of the Senate and the president of the Chamber .
representatives, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, former presidents, the presidential delegation and no one else.
“In addition, the rules do not give the President any power to transfer any paraphernalia of office or privilege from his position to any of his children.”
“Nigerians could recall how President Buhari heavily accused and criticized previous administrations of voting and wasting huge resources to maintain the presidential fleet and promised to sell most planes to cut costs.
“Since President Buhari took office, none of the planes have been sold. Instead, the Buhari presidency had continued to budget more funds for the fleet with N8.5 billion planned for 2020 alone, to approve that his daughter is using a presidential jet for his private photography event,
Additional reports by Channels TV