Gov. Amaechi and the political Bombardiers: What of the 73% Niger Delta oil wells that the Hausa/Fulani Control?

Bombardier in the United States air force is a person in the force's plane, who is responsible of aiming and dropping bombs. But in Rivers State, the Aircraft Bombardier BD 700, Global Express aircraft with registration No. 5N5N65 RS, bought by the Rivers State Government, used by Governor Chibuike Amaechi for official trips, have many political bombardiers, and this is generating political wars.

After the plane was grounded at Akure airport on April 26 and Governor Amaechi was affronted by those who felt that they were better political bombardiers, because of their professed threat on the part of Amaechi, the dust their political bombs are generating are noisy, but are as infertile as a dry season.

They have called on Amaechi to explain the ownership of the jet. They said that their records with the Acting Director General of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the aircraft was not bought by the state government. Is this not giving a good dog a bad name in order to

hang her? They jumped from that to say that the aircraft registration illustrated that it was possessed by Bank of Utah Trustee of Salt Lake City, Utah Limited States of America.

What the ham-fisted Acting Director General of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), who was credited as saying that the aircraft's clearance approval expired on April 2 did not know, was that his statement exposed his position for public ridicule. Since he or she knew that the clearance approval had expired since April 2, what effort did this inelegant chap make to notify the Rivers State Government?

The Acting Director General of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) was also credited as saying that the aircraft was operated illegally. But this statement was coming after the aircraft was grounded and you wonder between the aircraft and the office of the accuser which one

operated illegally.
Imagine that it was reportedly that the aircraft's clearance approval expired since April 2 and it was nearly a month that the clumsy Acting Director General of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) was telling the world about this and perhaps, with a view that Amaechi had shot himself on the foot, oblivious that the Acting Director General of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) was calling for his or her sack, for not been able to update the Rivers State Government with the news of the supposedly expiration of the aircraft's clearance

approval.
If Amaechi-led Rivers State Government aircraft clearance approval had expired, it behoved the aviation authorities to notify his government since the said April 2, and not wait to insult their offices thinking that they were bent to molest Amaechi. This impostor behaviour is unacceptable and embarrassing to the sensibilities of Nigerians that public funds are completely managed-badly, as salaries to the Acting Director General of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA); this

person was supposed to be a professional, but allowed sluggishness to becloud his or her official duty.

The sack of this Acting Director General of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) should be effected immediately if it is believed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government led by President Goodluck Jonathan had zero tolerance for corruption. Nigerians are tired of incompetent and un-performing office holders.

From examination, if truly the aircraft's clearance approval had expired since April 2, that Acting Director General of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), is just diverting attention and joining many political bombardiers to mount massive opposition and humiliation of Amaechi.

What these fellows after Amaechi do not realise is that Amaechi is not the only person to be the chairman of the Nigeria Governors' Forum (NGF), from where the presidency began to fight him, because he was always not mincing words on the stand of the forum. Why did the same

presidency not fight the House of Reps, which rejected the forced-candidate by the presidency for the post of Speaker and voted for their wish? Amaechi has been rated the best chairman of the NGF, but regrettably his fellow governors allowed themselves to be divided by the presidency for the portage of political gains. What a pragmatic political friends and foes!

The saga of the bombardier aircraft has kept President Goodluck Jonathan on the line on how he would be rated in his further political ambitions, because totalitarianism is an enemy of democracy. Has Jonathan not been fighting in all the regions of the country? North, West and South-South. Does he remember an Ijaw proverb which says that, 'The beginning of iworoko dance at village square will not end with the beating of bathroom slippers'? The political bombardments will not end with Amaechi.

Whether it was N7bn or N9bn that the private jet was bought or not, what did those saying that Amaechi inflated the cost of the jet by $10m do when they earlier had this record? Was it when the plane had brushes with the aviation authorities that this spurious agenda of the rival came up? It is really unfounded!

This rather hatchet man's job against Amaechi is falsity and an imagined-thing of the imagination of those spreading the bogus claim. Wherever the traducers got their record, but news reports said that the state government never announced that the aircraft was purchased for $57m.

It was recently that the state government said that the aircraft was bought for US$45m. Which script are those political bombardiers against Amaechi playing? The script, Nigerians have seen, will not make a good film.

One group 'Lawyers League' only saw where the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority acted within the law, but refused to see where the Acting Director General of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) misfired against the law.

Citing the Civil Aviation Authority Act of 2004, the group made a comment before it reasoned thus: (1) The private jet illegally operated for three weeks on an expired type certificate; (2) The

owners of the jet wilfully and or neglected to comply with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Act of 2004; and (3) The NCAA has no record of Governor Amaechi's interest in the private jet registered.

The above statement can only be expected from 'lawyers without boarder'. Hope you know what a professional without speciality can do? Need we say more? And if the phony group said that Governor Amaechi or the foreign operator of the private jet did not please the NCAA's terms and conditions, how come that the plane was allowed a landing space? Many officials in the NCAA needed to be sacked, if not for the politics the presidency is playing against Amaechi.

No one should say that Governor Amaechi should own up to any error that was not his. The regulator in NCAA needed to be castigated more than anyone had perceived, because of its shortcomings in the proper exercise of regulation. The regulator did not do the right thing since

it knew and said that the aircraft's clearance approval expired since April 2.

It was not expected of Governor Amaechi or the Rivers State to provide any satisfactory answer when the bean had already been peeled by the NCAA. If the plane was not driven that day it meant that NCAA would not have known the alleged state of the aircraft. Many persons needed

to be sacked from this NCAA! One wonders how many privately owned aircraft in Nigeria that occupy the landing space without official approval.

Many Nigerians have known that the political bombardiers against Governor Amaechi are bent on distracting him and are urging other Nigerians not to allow this comedian's tactics distract them. It is an unnecessary distraction. They want to score cheap point with Amaechi. One woman in the NCAA even said freshly that she was not aware of the aircraft, and you wonder if the aircraft was smuggled into the country if not through the dictates of the NCAA.

It has become obvious from what are on the papers that the political bombardiers against Amaechi want to intimidate or blackmail him. Do these persons remember again the Fuel subsidy scandal that involved a member of the National House? Hooey! EFCC should investigate NCAA and make its findings public, because Amaechi is not insane not to have

known the obligations required of him before the plane was brought in.

Governor Amaechi is courageous and bold, but what did the Federal Government do to the country that unleashed its dam's bank to flood Nigeria? That country turned Nigeria into garbage of a sort in the areas that the flood affected as long as it lasted. Contending with

Governor Amaechi's right to the Immunity Clause that he was supposed to be enjoying as a sitting governor, is contradictory and incompatible with the Constitution of the Federal Republic.

As far as the Immunity Clause exists, whoever that is probing Governor Amaechi is infringing on his fundamental right to the Constitution with impunity. Rather, it should be those at the NCAA that deserve the probe for not living up to expectation in the cause of their duty, but only waited to open the Pandora's Box when there is a perceived witch-hunt. After all, did the state House of Assembly not approve of the purchase of the aircraft?

If people see the purchase of the aircraft as a misappropriation of state funds they are not true with the issue, if a top banker in the country could say he donated One Hundred Million naira to a state in the north upon the insecurity in that part of the region and you wonder what the donation was meant for. He said that it was to assist the destitute, but what of if the people had used the money to purchase more munitions for their rebellious expertise?

Who is talking about the Rivers State Government aircraft and is breaking head over it when 73% Niger Delta oil wells are controlled by the Hausa/Fulani 'untouchables' of this country and hardly is anyone talking about it? The political fight against Amaechi is not ideal. The fight is costing Niger Delta its supposedly peace. It is a vulgar display against Amaechi, if those in the NCAA who said that the aircraft's clearance approval had expired since April 2, but did not notify the Rivers State Government earlier, are enjoying their sleep.

It is palpable that people should stop betraying the Constitution with the view that they are fighting Amaechi. All the repression and high-handedness levelled against Amaechi in this matter should stop. Paying a section of the media to pull Amaechi down does not worth the onus. Is Amaechi the only governor whose state's aircraft was registered by the Bank of Uttah? Tomorrow is the best judge of any action taken today.

Odimegwu Onwumere, Poet/Author, is the Coordinator, Concerned
Non-Indigenes In Rivers State (CONIRIV). Phone: +2348032552855 (OR)
+2348057778358. Email: [email protected]