Grounded plane: Amaechi not above the law, says Presidency

Rotimi Amechi

The last is yet to be heard regarding the grounding of the Rivers State Government plane last weekend by the National Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Presidency yesterday maintained that Governor Rotimi Amaechi is not above the law even as Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) said that the ban amounted to witch-hunt.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak, said the fact that Amaechi is a governor doesn’t place him above the law.

“The fact that you’re (Amaechi) a governor and you fly a private jet doesn’t give you the right to flout the law,” Gulak said. According to him; “there are laws regarding private jets.

If you’re going to fly your private jet, do that within the laws of the nation. NCAA has rules and regulations on flying aircraft. It has nothing to do with the President, because you’re the governor doesn’t mean you’ve to flout the law.” Gulak faulted claims that the Presidency is witch-hunting Governor Amaechi over his perceived political ambition in 2015. “Mr president has not in anyway or his aides witch-hunted any governor.

If Amaechi has any ambition, he has the right to do that under the law. He’s a member of our great party. We always encourage people to seek for offices.”

Gulak also reacted to the condemnation of the newly-created Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum (PDPGF) by opposition leaders. “Anything PDP is bad in Nigeria. We agree we are the leading party. We’ve the ACN Governors’ Forum and no one says anything. Why is everyone complaining about our own?”

He queried. “Other political parties have their own governors’ fora. The PDP under Tukur said under him, the party must have a governors’ forum. If Amaechi has any problem, let him complain. The President hasn’t done anything at the detriment of the PDP.

“Let me tell you one thing. All the governors’ fora are unconstitutional. They’re not in the constitution. The fact that the constitution allows you to gather doesn’t mean you should grandstand.

It was because of this that the PDP said we must have a Governors’ Forum to review activities of our governors,” Gulak noted. Gulak faulted the FCT Minister of State, Olajumoke Akinjide, over her recent campaign for President Goodluck Jonathan ahead of 2015.

“The FCT Minister of State has no right to campaign for Mr President. I will tell you that we’ve said so before that whether or not he will contest will be unveiled in 2014,” Gulak said. The Special Adviser faulted the merger by the opposition parties as being dead on arrival.

According to him, the key figures involved are strange bed fellows whose personal interests will truncate the party. “APC (All Progressives Congress) will be dead on arrival if it ever arrives. It consists of strange bed fellows. The merger as far as the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) is concerned, is how Buhari will win election.

So, all the opposition parties are strange bed fellows and the romance will not last. “All the actors aren’t sincere. They said last week that they will probe the PDP government when they get into power.

They should begin with Lagos State and see how Tinubu has siphoned their money.” Reacting to comments credited to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Gulak again debunked claims that there were plans by the Federal Government through the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to probe Mrs Obiageli Ezekwesili, a former education minister.

“I believe the former president expressed his fears. Mr President has never said that he was going to probe Ezekwesili. This government has always been under serious probe. The National Assembly has been doing its duty in probing this government. Let it be clear that this government has never said that Ezekwesili will be probed,” Gulak revealed. Meanwhile, the ACN has described the grounding of the plane as a glaring case of political witch-hunt, despite the tepid denial.

In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday, its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the action also amounted to gross abuse of national institutions, and a pointer to what lies ahead for all perceived enemies of the Jonathan administration.

It said the worst part of the whole issue is the fact that a body like NCAA, which is supposed to carry out its all-important duties without political interference, but in accordance with stipulated global standards, has now become a tool in the hands of vindictive politicians. The ACN said the inconsistent reasons given for grounding the plane have exposed the shenanigans of those who felt they could easily pool the wool over the eyes of Nigerians.

“First, the plane was ostensibly grounded in Akure because the pilot did not declare the flight’s manifest to the appropriate authorities. Then, it was said that the plane’s clearance certificate has expired, hence, it was banned from flying the Nigerian airspace. How low can a government sink just to get at a perceived enemy? “The questions that arise, therefore, are: Has the clearance certificate for the plane really expired? When did it expire?

Was this communicated to the Rivers State Government before the plane was grounded? If so, when, and if not, why not? In any case, would the NCAA have acted with so much alacrity if the plane had belonged to a state whose governor has no political differences with President Jonathan? “While the NCAA must be free to carry out its regulatory duties without hindrance, it must be careful not to be seen to be acting on the orders of politicians

. If this is the new modus operandi of the NCAA, then the nation is in trouble, and must be ready to see the reversal of the positive strides recorded in the aviation sector in the past few years,’’ the party warned.

It said while the political crisis that has torned the PDP apart and pitched the President against his fellow party men is not the business of anyone outside the party, it (ACN) is compelled to speak out when national institutions are now being dragged into what is essentially an ugly ego-fight.

ACN warned those who are in position of authority to realize that any abuse of national institutions in their quest to settle political scores could bring the house crashing down on all, including those behind such abuses.

April 30, 2013