Lawmakers are divided on a proposal for the president and vice president to use commercial flights.
The House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence has summoned the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, and the Commandant of the Presidential Air Fleet, Olayinka Oyesola, over the breakdown of planes in the presidential fleet.
The Chairman of the Committee, Ahmad Satomi (APC, Borno), announced the summon after the plenary session on Wednesday.
Mr Satomi said the committee will investigate the breakdown of aircraft in the presidential fleet, which reportedly forced President Bola Tinubu to use a chartered commercial plane from the Netherlands/ Saudi Arabia trip recently.
PREMIUM TIMES also reported the cancellation of Mr Shettima's trip to the United States, where he was scheduled to represent President Bola Tinubu at the 2024 US-Africa Business Summit, due to a fault with his aircraft.
Mr Shettima was unable to make the trip due to a technical fault with his aircraft.
Motion on the floor of the House
Mr Satomi had, during plenary, moved a motion for the House to embark on the probe. However, the motion divided the House along party lines.
Several opposition members opposed the motion, stating that the president and vice president should consider using commercial flight, while members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) highlighted the danger of using chartered flight by the president and vice president.
In the motion, Mr Satomi said the use of chartered commercial flights by the president and vice president has security implications.
"These occurrences pose a clear present and imminent threat to the lives of the president, the vice president and other very important personalities who use the Fleet from time to time," he said.
The legislator raised concerns over the poor management of the presidential fleet and its potential danger to the safety of the president and vice president.
"Any calamity which may arise if these aircraft are not immediately put into premium operational status has the potential not only to cause major upheaval to the stability of democracy in Nigeria but may also significantly affect the security and peace of the country," he said.
The president should fly commercial-- PDP lawmakers
Speaking on the motion, the Minority Whip, Ali Isa (PDP, Gombe), argued that it is not a must for the president or the vice president to use the presidential planes.
He said the president should consider commercial flights or use the road.
"We love our president and others. Since an issue has been raised, I would advise that the president should suspend using the presidential aircraft; if there is a need, he could use chartered or commercial flight.
"There is another option--that would help Nigerians because if the president could travel by road. Nigerians would have hope that our roads would be repaired," Mr Isa said.
Also echoing the option of commercial flight, the Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda, said there is nothing wrong with public officials using commercial flights.
He stated that it is inappropriate for the House to spend legislative hours discussing whether the vice president should use commercial flight or not.
"I have not seen anything wrong with public office holders using public aircraft. The Prime Minister of the UK uses British Airways. It is commercial. We should be thinking of how to resuscitate the Nigerian Airway.
"British Airways is not a British Air Force; it is a British private company. If we have planes in the presidential fleet, they should be maintained, and the president and vice president can use them. If, for any reason, we have failed to maintain them, it is not for it to be discussed on the floor of the House.
"What it means is that there is a failure in the system. If the president or presidency wants a new aircraft, it can be part of the budget. There is a budget around the corner. If they propose and we find it worthy, so be it. It is not an issue for us to discuss on the floor of the House that the VP fly commercial jet. In fact, it is not germane enough. We don't need to discuss the issue on the floor of the house," Mr Chinda said.
In his contribution, Sada Soli (APC, Katsina) countered the comments made by Messrs Isa and Chinda, stating that the Prime Minister of the UK uses a special British Airways plane.
"Today is very sad for me to speak on this issue. The life and the security of our president and vice president are very important. What is going on in the Presidential Air Fleet? You know how much money this House budgeted for the president's fleet. What is going on?"
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The lawmaker maintained that the country cannot afford a situation where the president would be at the mercy of his hosts.
Similarly, the House Leader, Julius Ihonvbere (APC, Edo), maintained that because of security implications, the security of the president must not be left in the hands of commercial airlines.
"Don't take anything for granted." Mr Ihonvbere said. "We must ensure that the officers leading the country are protected and given the dignity they deserve."
Following the debate, the Deputy Speaker, Ben Kalu, who presided over the session, directed Mr Satomi to proceed with the investigation.
Presidential fleet
In 2015, when former President Muhammadu Buhari came on board, he promised Nigerians his administration would cut down on the number of aircraft (on the PAF) inherited from former President Goodluck Jonathan.
According to the government, there were ten aircraft in the fleet. They included two each of Augusta 149, Augusta 101 and Falcon 7X, as well as one each of HS 4000, G500, G550 and 737 BBJ series.
There was an attempt in the past by that administration to sell two of the aircraft - a Falcon 7X executive jet and a Hawker 4000.
