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Despite Recession, States, Others Spend Over N136.5bn On Hajj / Debtor States, Others Spend N6bn To Maintain Private Jets / Debtor States, Others Spend N6bn To Maintain Private Jets (2) (3) (4)
Debtor States, Others Spend #6b To Maintain Private Jet. by hyzich(m): 1:38pm On Sep 13, 2015 |
As the cash crunch continues to hit the federal
and state governments across the country
owing to declining global oil prices, SUNDAY
PUNCH has gathered that 11 private jets and
helicopters, worth N36.54bn and owned by
seven state governments, are being maintained
with about N6bn yearly.
The jets
and
helicopters
are owned
by Akwa
Ibom,
Rivers,
Cross River, Bauchi, Taraba, Osun and
Lagos states.
Rivers, which owed its workers between three
and 10 months’ salaries as of June 20, 2015,
has two private jets and one helicopter. They
are:
Bombardier Global 5000 acquired for $45m
(N8.9bn);
Embraer Legacy 600, which goes for about
$16m (N3.152bn);
and an Augusta Westland helicopter, which
goes for about $10m (N1.97bn), according to
aircraftcompare.com, an online aviation
portal that provides estimated prices of
aircraft.
The Taraba State Government, which does not
owe its workers owns:
two Embraer ERJ 145, with each going for
$21m (N4.13bn),
Akwa Ibom, which as of June 20 had cleared all
outstanding workers’ salaries, owns:
an American-made Gulfstream G450, which
according to aircraftcompare.com, costs
$38.9m (N7.66bn).
Osun state,which as of June 20 owed its
workers seven months’ salaries, has:
a French-made Eurocopter ASS 355
helicopter it said was acquired for N500m
($2.538m at the current official exchange
rate of N197 to the United States dollar).
Cross River owes some of her workers six
months salaries, others have two months’
outstanding. They have:
a Bombardier Dash 8 that industry experts
estimate to worth $10m (N1.97bn).
Bauchi State, which as of June 20 owed two
months’ salaries, has:
one Embraer ERJ 145, which costs $21m
(N4.137bn), according to
aircraftcompare.com.
Lagos, which is not indebted to its workers, has:
two Bell 412 helicopters, with each costing
$6.7m (N1.319bn), according to
aircraftcompare.com estimates. Thus, the
two helicopters cost around $13.4m
(N2.64bn). They were acquired under the
Lagos State Security Trust Fund platform, an
initiative of the state government and private
partners.
The total cost of the 11 private jets and
helicopters is estimated at $198.80m
(N39.17bn).
According to airline chief executives and
industry experts, airlines spend between 15 and
20 per cent of the cost of an aircraft on its
operations yearly. This means not less than
$29.82m (N5.875bn) is spent every year as
running costs on the jets by the seven state
governments.
This is coming just as cash-strapped states
seeking the release of President Muhammadu
Buhari-approved bailout funds have indicated
that they have no plan to sell their private jets
and helicopters in order to ameliorate their
ravaging economic condition.
Osun and Cross River states, which are currently
seeking N34.988bn and N7.856bn respectively
in loans from banks through the Federal
Government bailout package, said rather than
sell their private jets and helicopters, they had
put them into commercial use by leasing them
to some aviation companies.
The Chief Press Secretary to the Cross River
State Governor, Mr. Christian Ita, said:
“We have put the aircraft, Bombardier Dash
8, under Aerocontractors Airlines for
commercial purposes. We bought it so that it
could be used to convey people to the Obudu
Ranch.”
The Director, Bureau of Communications and
Strategy, Governor’s Office, Osun State, Mr.
Semiu Okanlawon, did not pick calls or respond
to text messages sent to his mobile telephone,
but the All Progressive Congress Chairman in
the state, Mr. Adegboyega Famodun, had a few
months ago said the state government had put
the Eurocopter ASS 355 helicopter into
commercial use by leasing it to an airline.
He, however, said the state normally recalled it
whenever it needed it.
Bauchi State, which is seeking N8.6bn in bailout
funds from the Federal Government, could not
readily comment on whether it would sell or put
for lease its Embraer ERJ 145. The plane is
expected to return back to the country from
Morocco any time from now, the state
government said two weeks ago.
However, Lagos, Rivers and Akwa Ibom states,
which have yet to apply for bailout funds
perhaps because they have no need for it,
declined to comment on whether their private
jets and helicopters would be sold or put into
commercial use.
The spokesperson for Governor Akinwumi
Ambode, Mr. Habib Aruna, did not pick calls or
respond to a text message seeking enquiry on
the state’s plan for its two helicopters.
The Special Adviser to the Rivers State
Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr. Opunabo
Inko-Tariah, said he had not been briefed by the
governor on the plans for the jets.
The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Udom
Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Ekerette
Udo, and the Commissioner of Information, Mr.
Aniekan Umanah, neither picked calls nor
responded to text messages sent to their
telephones on the state’s Gulsstream 450
aircraft.
The Federal Government bailout for the states,
coming as loans from commercial banks, is
repayable at an interest rate of nine per cent
over a 20-year period, according to the Central
Bank of Nigeria. nigeriacamera.net/debtor-states-others-spend-n6bn-to-maintain-private-jets/ www.nigeriacamera.net/debtor-states-others-spend-n6bn-to-maintain-private-jets/ |
Re: Debtor States, Others Spend #6b To Maintain Private Jet. by Tee2902(m): 1:39pm On Sep 13, 2015 |
Naija... . |
Re: Debtor States, Others Spend #6b To Maintain Private Jet. by POWEROFPEACE(m): 1:50pm On Sep 13, 2015 |
And the workers are suffering. This whole thing started since the era of corruption and they don't care to say the worse . May God help us. |
Re: Debtor States, Others Spend #6b To Maintain Private Jet. by hyzich(m): 1:54pm On Sep 13, 2015 |
aregbesola againnnnnn.... |
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