President
Goodluck Jonathan and some top government officials on Saturday escaped
an air mishap at the Minna Airport, Niger State, when a presidential
jet developed a technical fault, while they were aboard.
The
presidential jet, Nigerian Air Force 001 (5N-FGT), had earlier conveyed
Jonathan to Minna for the -Peoples Democratic Party's North-Central
rally which held at the Trade Fair Centre, Minna.
At the end of
the rally, the President returned to the airport in company with top
government officials, PDP state governors and party chiefs for a trip to
Sokoto, from where he was scheduled to return to Abuja.
However,
several minutes after Jonathan had bade farewell to those who
accompanied him to the airport, and the door of the aircraft was shut,
the aircraft failed to move.
After many attempts, crew members and
engineers disembarked from the aircraft and made spirited efforts to
fix the fault as armed security men took strategic positions around it.
While
this was going on, Vice-President Namadi Sambo; President of the
Senate, David Mark; all PDP governors, members of the National Assembly
and members of the Federal Executive Council were watching under the
scorching sun.
When it became obvious that the fault could not be
easily fixed, the commander of the Presidential Air Fleet, Air Vice
Marshal Uko Ebong, ordered that a smaller presidential jet, 5N-FGW,
which conveyed the Vice-President to the state be brought to fly
Jonathan.
Jonathan disembarked from the faulty jet at about 3.30pm and quickly moved to the smaller aircraft.
He later left the airport in the smaller aircraft at about 3:35pm, leaving behind some of his co-occupants in the bigger jet.
Sambo
also had to join Mark in another smaller presidential jet, 5N-FGV,
which had earlier conveyed the Senate President to the state.
Senator Barnabas Gemade and a few other dignitaries also joined them.
Those
who were with the President in the faulty aircraft before they
disembarked included the National Chairman of the PDP, Adamu Muazu;
Chairman of the party's Board of Trustees, Tony Anenih; former chairman
of the party, Ahmadu Ali; former Sokoto State Governor, Attahiru
Bafarawa, and some presidential aides.
At the time of filing this
report, engineers were still battling with the faulty jet on the tarmac
in the deserted airport while officials of the Federal Airport Authority
of Nigeria were seen taking notes.
Some security men were left behind to keep watch on the aircraft.
When asked for what was wrong with the aeroplane, an official of FAAN simply said, "The return engine refused to pick."
Another source who pleaded anonymity, said the hot temperature in the city led to the fault.
"What the commander said was that the high temperature affected the engine of the aircraft," he said.
When
asked why the hot weather did not affect the two other presidential
jets, the source explained that the Air Force 001 is "more digitalised
than others."
The incident occurred despite the fact that in the
past four years, at least N48bn has been allocated to the Presidential
Air Fleet, a range of 11 luxurious aircraft which are at the disposal of
the President.
According to the 2014 Appropriation Bill presented
to the National Assembly by President Goodluck Jonathan through the
Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in December 2013, a total
of N4.91bn was earmarked for the Presidential Air Fleet.
For the maintenance of the 10 aircraft currently in the Presidential Air Fleet, N1.52bn was allocated.
This was apart from the N747m earmarked for the purchase of aviation fuel for the aircraft already in the fleet.
The
government earmarked the sum of N2.66bn for other expenses on the PAF,
including international trainings for the fleet's personnel,
rehabilitation/renovation/repairs of the PAF Barracks, completion of a
hangar project, tyre bay tools and equipment, insurance premium,
cleaning and fumigation services, 797 units of LG 2HP air conditioners
for the PAF Barracks and refreshment and meals.
For the year 2013,
a total of N7.5bn was allocated the Presidential Air Fleet, while in
2012, N15.6m was allocated for personnel costs; N969m for overheads,
which included spare parts, checks, aviation fuel; and N16.8bn was
allocated for a brand new plane for the presidency.
In 2011, an N18bn allocation to the PAF was tucked under a N105bn budgetary allocation to the "Intelligence Community."
Also,
in the 2010 proposal, the Presidency had proposed the acquisition of
four new aircraft for the presidential fleet and had made a budget
provision of N23.4bn in that budget for them.
Experts have put the combined estimated value of the 10 planes in the presidential fleet at about $390.5m (N60.53bn).
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