Peter Obi, the presidential candidate, has urged the federal government to inform Nigerians on how it funded the newly acquired presidential jet and the status of the old ones.

The Labour Party Chieftain made this known in a post on X on Tuesday, August 20, asking President Bola Tinubu's administration to come clean to Nigerians on the transaction details.

Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, disclosed that the President was embarking on a working visit to Paris, France in a newly acquired Airbus A330 business jet.

The model, typically used as a twin-aisle passenger aircraft, was purchased last month at a cost of $100 million and has now been registered to the Nigerian Air Force.

The modified jet is one of the three presidential aircraft recently seized by a French court in favor of a Chinese firm, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited, over a dispute with the Ogun State Government.

Reacting to the purchase and the plea of Nigerians who see the purchase as profligacy by the current administration, Peter Obi thanked the French court for helping Nigerians get this information.

An excerpt of his post reads: "Now that the Presidential Jet has arrived. From all indications, despite all the denials, and back and forth over the newly acquired Presidential aircraft, the jet is now here thanks to the French court that helped Nigerians get the information."

He said that "the federal government would lose nothing but respect if it failed to provide adequate information about its leadership to the people whose money was being deployed and whose mandate the President was holding."

“A presidential jet is a major symbol of national sovereignty and state power. How much it costs to transport the president is a major issue of public accountability. I hope that Nigerians will not be denied the right of full disclosure on the new presidential jet,” Obi added.

Now that the Presidential Jet has arrived.

From all indications, despite all the denials, and back and forth over the newly acquired Presidential aircraft, the jet is now here thanks to the French court that helped Nigerians to get the information.

— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) August 20, 2024