By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Special Senior Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, has reacted to news making rounds the social media that the Presidential Aircraft tagged NAF 001 packed in London waiting for Mr Buhari uses a daily packing fee of about £4,000.
In a statement issued on Thursday to counter this claim, Mr Shehu said the criticisms trailing the packed aircraft were “mostly informed by lack of understanding of protocol around foreign trips by Heads of State all over the world.”
The Presidency said, “It is important to state that for reasons of protocol, national security, diplomacy and prestige, there is no world leader who travels abroad and is left without plans for immediate return or possible evacuation.
“From operational point of view, this country’s Armed Forces as represented by the Nigeria Air Force are not to abandon their Commander-In-Chief in whichever circumstance he is. This is a standard operating procedure.
“We have also read claims about outrageous fees allegedly paid by Nigeria. The published amounts are totally untrue. Aircraft conveying heads of state all over the world usually enjoy waivers even where payments for parking are differentiated by aircraft categories.
“We have been assured that where the waiver is not granted, payment will not exceed £1,000, which is a quarter of the amount being peddled.
“For the avoidance of doubt, this President is not the first to have a presidential aircraft standing by for him, as he will certainly not be the last. All past Heads of this country have had this privilege, and the part that surprises the most is that leaders who in the past travelled with three Nigerian aircraft did not suffer this trenchant criticism.
“We appeal to Nigerians to ignore opposition campaign aimed at derailing this administration’s big plans for the country.
“This is a government that is constructing the Second Niger Bridge, the Mambila Power Plant, the East-West and the North-South standard gauge railway lines.
“We are a government that has saved this country an annual loss of N2 trillion from fraudulent petroleum subsidy schemes by influential citizens and their children, and rid the public service of about 50,000 ghost workers.”
He concluded that, “The Buhari administration certainly deserves a chance.”
