Senate President, Godswill Akpabio has said that the National Assembly will not allow President Bola Tinubu and Vice President, Kashim Shettima to have the same faith as Iran President and the Vice President of Malawi who died in plane crashes.
Akpabio stated this during Thursday’s plenary while reacting to a viral report attributed to him, saying that the Senate is more interested in getting new presidential jets than addressing the suffering of the people.
According to him, lawmakers would not hesitate to approve Tinubu’s request to replace faulty aircraft in the Presidential Fleet if the need arises. He, however, clarified that there was no such request for a presidential jet approval before the lawmakers.
Akpabio said; “We care about the President and we care about the Nigerian people. We will approve things that will benefit the Nigerian people.
“Somebody called me from BBC, that what I said in Senator Mongunu’s house was false and should be disregarded, that I was now saying that I will not approve.
“That is what you can call anticipated blackmail. The purveyors of the story know very well that maybe there is a problem with the Presidential Fleet and that where they will go will be the parliament. And so they are now trying to do anticipated blackmail to tell us if they bring it, do not look into it.
“So I think that we should ignore them because of what we are doing here. I read the President’s correspondence to us.
“Nothing was touching on a plane or no plane, but I can tell you that when you hear stories such as the death of the Vice President of Malawi as a result of a defective plane, and then you hear stories such as the death of the President of Iran as a result of defective aircraft, we shouldn’t ever sit and allow such.
“The Senate is very responsible. The National Assembly is very responsible. We will look into issues that will benefit the governance of the country.
“Irrespective of anticipatory blackmail, because those people know very well that something like that might come in the future. If it’s a necessity, the Senate will look into it. But there is nothing like that before us now.”
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