…Says it is insensitive, vexatious
By Mike Odiakose, Abuja
A Good governance advocate and Security Expert, Dr Jackson Lekan Ojo has slammed the Presidency over the purchase of an armoured super-luxury Cadillac Escalade Sports Utility Vehicle for official use of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The criticism of the purchase of the Cadillac Escalade SUV also called the “Beast” in coming on the heels of the uproar that trailed the purchase of a $100m A330 Air Bus for President Tinubu.
The new luxury place was delivered to the Presidency on Sunday in Abuja.
Tinubu’s all-black armoured Cadillac Escalade ultra-luxury SUV is designed for a truly VIP Chairman experience.
According to reports, this powerful ride combines top-notch luxury and security, with ultimate comfort and functionality.
Speaking on the purchase of the SUV and A330 Airbus, Dr Jackson Ojo, who is also a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, declared that discreet checks revealed that the vehicle is same with the official vehicle of the American President and cost about N995 million.
“People (Nigerians) don’t know this, people should go online. The same President has just acquired an Escalade jeep, the type the American President is riding and that costs about N995 million, that is only N5 million to be N1 billion for a car where a lot of Nigerians are not sure of a meal a day.
“A lot of Nigerians are now eating without protein. Go to local restaurant, ‘Mama Put’, you hear people say ‘give me rice, no meat.’
“I don’t think this is normal at all.”
Also commenting on the new presidential jet, Dr Jackson Ojo expressed regret that Nigeria spent a whooping $100 dollars to purchase a second hand A33 Airbus that usually meant for commercial business when an executive jet would have been served the same purpose.
He also criticized the timing for the purchase of the “new” plane.
“My own concern is that it is not a new jet. I wouldn’t know why we would go and buy a fairly used plane.
“I know a jet can last for a thousand years because of periodic checks, maintenance and upgrading. We can even spend less than the cost of this one to upgrade what we have on ground today in our presidential fleet.
“Some people were even suggesting in the past that some jets in the presidential fleet should be sold so that they use the money to upgrade some of the jets in the fleet. That was not done, rather they acquired new one.
” Maybe in the next two months they will go acquire another one for $80 for the Vice President and then another one for $50 million for Senate President.
“Secondly, I wouldn’t know why our presidential jet would be an Airbus. Airbus would take a minimum of 300 people. How many people would be travelling with Mr President across the globe that we would need an Airbus for?
“Is it this time that we need all these?
“Even if this place has been purchased it would have been better if the government just keep it first and not publised it.
“People just ended 10 days of protests with hash tag “‘EndBadGovernance.’
“The people have not totally stopped the protests but shifted it to October 1. Between now and October 1 you are giving them headaches and giving people that do not have support for them before may decide to join them because of what is going on.”
Dr Jackson Ojo further criticized the government for telling Nigerians to endure hard times while wasting scare resources on luxurious lifestyles and cautioned that the people should not be taken for granted.
” The house Atiku Abubakar, Goodluck Jonathan, Namadi Sambo and Prof Osi banjo lived as Vice Presidents they just renovated it for N19 billion.”
He added that “Nigerians are so unique, so gentle, so simple but this government is taking our simplicity for stupidity, our docility is being taken for stupidity.
“Some persons are Mr President are deceiving him and that is why they are doing this.
“In this country the people are supposed to be the leaders but we have been made the subjects to leadership we voted for. It is saddening “
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