The Federal Government on Sunday denied claims that President Goodluck Jonathan had a hand in the grounding and outright ban of the official plane of Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi for “operating illegally in the country.”
Reacting to reports that last Friday’s ban of the Rivers government aircraft was orchestrated by the Presidency, the government through the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, stated that such reports were mere speculation.
Mr. Fan Ndubuoke, the General Manager, Public Affairs, NCAA, stated that the aircraft was not supposed to be in Nigeria, adding that the Rivers State Government was aware of this fact.
He said, “I don’t know how the President will come from Aso Rock and say ‘ground this airplane’. In fact, I don’t how that will happen and I wonder why he will do that in the first place. So what we are trying to say is that it is not true.
“If the pilot or those who got the approval didn’t tell them the dates of expiration, that is their own case to handle.”
