Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe [Abia South Senatorial District] has said that President Bola Tinubu did not get the approval of the National Assembly to buy a new presidential jet.
The senator spoke on a Channels Television programme: “Politics Today,” on Monday on the controversial purchase of the jet.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga had explained that the Airbus A330 purchased for President Tinubu in August was a used and “refurbished” one.
Abaribe, however, said the National Assembly had no knowledge of the purchase of the jet.
He said: “I am in the National Assembly, but I can tell you for a fact that nobody, quote me, nobody brought anything to the National Assembly to say please approve this for purchase of a new plane.
“Nobody brought anything.
“I never saw any document and I have always been in the National Assembly.
“Ask anyone, none.”
Abaribe said that the failure of the Presidency to approach the National Assembly with a request meant that part of the job of the legislator to be a check on the executive was not being efficiently carried out.
He said he was worried that the public perceived the National Assembly members as rubber-stamps, adding that it was like that because the lawmakers felt that they had fought a lot, yet it had not yielded much to the public and tried to have some cooperation with the executive.
