The purchase of a new Airbus A330 presidential jet by the President Bola Tinubu-led government is still whipping up reactions, but for Omoyele Sowore, the former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), there is more to it than meets the eye.
While many Nigerians berate the government for ignoring the cries of the citizens who have endured severe hardship and hunger and going ahead with the purchase of the jet, Sowore is of the opinion that the new presidential jet is nothing but a scam.
The new aircraft was recently used for the President’s trip to France.
It replaces the aging 19-year-old Boeing B737-700(BBJ) originally purchased during former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s tenure.
The Perfect Scam
When reports that a French court seized three presidential jets owned by the Nigerian government emerged, Sowore had suggested that the move was a planned one.
According to him, the Tinubu government only wanted to use that as a medium to unveil the new presidential jet with empathy.
Now, when the new presidential jet was unveiled on Monday, Sowore took no time to connect the dots.
Sowore said: “NEW PRESIDENTIAL JET SCAM PERFECTLY CONCLUDED
Tinubu’s @officialABAT new Presidential jet, purportedly released by a Chinese Company in France, has landed in Abuja unannounced this evening and as earlier predicted, he will be travelling to France in the “state of the art” jet tomorrow The A330 with new registration number 5N-NGA was purchased for $100m and retrofitted with all sorts of gadgets with another $50m.”
Refurbished Presidential Jet
Many people are beginning to see reasons with Sowore, especially after an investigative report has revealed that the jet was a refurbished Airbus A330 sourced from Mid East Jet in Saudi Arabia.
According to LEADERSHIP, investigations revealed that the Airbus A330 had previously served with Middle East Jet between November 27, 2009, and May 25, 2012.
Also Read: 5 Facts About Tinubu’s Brand New Airbus A330 Presidential Jet
It was then transferred to Constellah Aviation before returning to Mid East Jet in September 2014, and eventually sold to Nigeria.
The federal government officially took delivery of the aircraft on Sunday, August 18, 2024.
The plane is registered with the number 5N-FGA and HEX CODE 06430C, and it was received from a factory in France.
