ANOTHER PLANE CARRYING G7 GOVERNORS ENROUTE LAGOS TEMPORARY GROUNDED EARLIER IN THE DAY Nigerian aviation authorities in Abuja today briefly grounded a private jet that was supposed to ferry some governors and politicians belonging to the break-away faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to Lagos en route Abeokuta. SaharaReporters learnt that the members of the new PDP were about to fly to Lagos on their way to a meeting with former President Olusegun Obasanjo. A spokesman for the new PDP told SaharaReporters that the temporary grounding of the jet was “part of the Jonathan administration’s desperate war against us.” He added, “We will not be deterred in our struggle to enthrone true democracy within the PDP.” The source added that this was not the first time the Ministry of Aviation was being used to ground a jet used by opposition figures within the party, citing the withdrawal of the flying privileges of a jet owned by Rivers State government. When SaharaReporters made inquiries about the reasons for today’s brief grounding, two Nigerian aviation officials gave conflicting responses. The Aviation Ministry’s General Manager, Yakubu Datti, told SaharaReporters over the phone that the ministry was not involved at all in any delay of the flight. He claimed that the problem arose purely from a disagreement between the jet owners and the politicians, insisting that the issue had nothing to do with the aviation authorities. However, Joe Obi, the spokesperson for embattled Aviation Minister Stella Oduah, offered a different account in an email to SaharaReporters. His email stated that the jet was briefly stopped from taking off in order to ascertain the pilot’s flight plans and to make other routine checks in accordance with aviation practices all over the world. He emphasized that the plane had since been cleared to fly.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 16:12:27 +0000
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