Naira Marley arriving Abuja via the jet
The Federal Government has suspended a private jet charter and
aircraft maintenance firm, Executive Jet Services, for flying Musician,
Azeez Fashola aka Naira Marley to Abuja to attend a concert.
The announcement suspending the airline was made by the Minister of
Aviation, Hadi Sirika, during the Presidential Task Force briefing in
Abuja on Monday.
Sirika said the aircraft which conveyed the musician was supposed
to fly an Appeal Court Judge, Justice Adefope Okogie, from Lagos to
Abuja.
He said, “The operation is a clear violation of our approval
which we take very seriously. It seems this is becoming a norm. This is
the second time. So, Executive Jet Services is hereby suspended
indefinitely and they will face the law.
“The captain will also be sanctioned for giving wrong
information to the control tower. It seems also that people are not
tired of trying our resolve and we are not tired of living up to our
responsibilities. Governance is a serious matter.”
The minister said the government would henceforth be stricter in granting approvals for private flights.
He said, “The person on that flight conducted a concert. We
approved a flight, certainly not for a musician. The flight was approved
to convey Honourable Justice Adefope Okogie from Lagos to Abuja and
then back to Lagos for an official assignment.
“In this challenging time, in our wisdom, we decided that
judiciary was part of the essential services. Moving a judge from Lagos
to Abuja was in order.”
