Oando Plc Favour Ifeoluwa & Akinola Ajibade Oando Plc says it has completed and won the bid for the operatorship of oil block KON 13 in Angola. The firm which recently acquired Eni of Italy’s oil assets in Nigeria, said that the award of the oil block located in Angola’s onshore Kwanza Basin followed a competitive bidding process by the country’s oil and gas sector regulator. It further said hat the asset in which it owns 45 per cent participating interest, has estimated prospective resources of 770 to 1,100 million barrels of oil. Oando is handling its operations relating to the asset through its upstream subsidiary, Oando Energy Resources (OER). “Oando Plc, Africa’s leading indigenous energy solutions provider listed on both the Nigerian Exchange Limited and Johannesburg Stock Exchange is pleased to announce that its upstream subsidiary, Oando Energy Resources (OER), has been awarded operatorship of Block KON 13 in Angola’s Onshore Kwanza Basin, following a...
By Favour Ifeoluwa & Akinola Ajibade
The Federal Government, under the administration of President Bola Tinubu, has spent a total sum of N14.77billion on repair and maintenance of the presidential air fleet in the last eleven (11) months
The government, in a report published by Punch Newspaper, made the payments in 11 tranches between 16th July 2023 and 25th May 2024 through the State House headquarters transit account labelled, ‘Presidential Air Fleet Transit Funds’.
This.new development comes amidst plans by the National Assembly to approve the purchase of two new aircraft, after it was discovered that the President’s 19-year-old Boeing 737 and some of the other aircraft in the fleet, were dysfunctional.
The House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence listed the purchase in its technical subcommittee report, which may cost over $623.4m or N918.7bn, according to experts’ estimates.
“The committee is of opinion that considering the fragile structure of the Nigerian federation and recognising the dire consequences of any foreseen or unforeseen mishap that may arise as a result of technical/operational inadequacy of the Presidential Air Fleet, it is in the best interest of the country to procure two additional aircraft as recommended. This will also prove to be most cost-efficient in the long run, aside from the added advantage of providing a suitable, comfortable and safe carrier befitting of the status and responsibilities of the offices of the President and Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the report read in part.
In recent times, there has been serious contention about the state of the air fleet despite enormous government resources spent on it during past administrations.
The unavailability has also forced Tinubu to charter private jets, and Shettima to abandon international trips.
On May 6, 2024, Shettima abandoned his trip to the 2024 US-Africa Business Summit due to a technical fault with his official aircraft.
The Vice President was scheduled to represent the President, who had to board a commercial aircraft to Saudi Arabia after his main luxury jet was taken for rehabilitation, and a second aircraft he was travelling in developed a technical snag in The Netherlands.
The Presidency currently maintains a fleet of six aircraft, namely a Boeing 737, a Gulfstream G550, a Gulfstream GV, two Falcon 7Xs, and a Challenger CL605; as well as six helicopters— two Agusta 139s and four Agusta 189s.
Recall that Buhari’s government spent N62.47bn for the operation and maintenance of PAF during his eight-year tenure. Though Buhari promised to reduce the size of the fleet as part of his pledge to cut the cost of governance.
However, his regime failed to fulfilll its promise. In the 2016 budget, N3.65bn was allocated for the PAF, but this rose to N4.37bn in the 2017 fiscal year. In 2018 and 2019, the allocation almost doubled, amounting to N7.26bn and N7.30bn respectively. Closer observation showed a slight drop by N503.75m in 2020, when N6.79bn was budgeted for the fleet. The allocation surged to N12.55bn and N12.48bn in the 2021 and 2022 fiscal budgets respectively, before the N8.07bn allocation in 2023.
Meanwhile, checks using GovSpend, a civic tech platform that tracks and analyses the Federal Government’s spending, showed that Tinubu approved the disbursement of N14.77bn within one year of assuming office. The amount is separate from expenses incurred during foreign and local trips by the President, Vice-President and other officials.
N1.52bn was approved in July 2023 for maintenance, and was followed by a payment of N3.1bn in August. The next tranche was paid in November 2023 with a disbursement of N1.26bn. The government also paid N2.54bn in March 2024, N6.35bn in April 2024 and N1.27bn last month.
Defending the need for a new aircraft, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in an interview, said the purchase of another aircraft was a necessity. He added that the proposal was a “basic thing any sane government will do”, because it cannot toy with the President’s welfare.
Comments
Post a Comment