Political office holders in the country,
especially governors and ministers have embraced a new way of flying in
state-of-the-art private jets to destinations within the country and
overseas without necessarily owning them, findings have shown.
The new private jet ownership model
called time-share lease, which is fast gaining ground among the
political elites, has seen over 30 private jets in the country, carrying
mostly ministers, governors and some top government and private sector
shots.
Investigations by our correspondents
revealed that some European companies and a few Nigerian private jet
firms were behind the time-share private jet lease business model.
It was learnt they introduced the model to the country to enable them make money from the political class.
Time-share private jet lease, also
called fractional jet ownership, provides individuals, companies and
corporations a way of enjoying the benefits of a private jet anytime
they want it, according to Wikipedia.
Time-share ownership comes in various
models. Some come as a way of making use of the jets for certain number
of hours in a month without necessarily owning it. Others may involve
joint ownership with others, Wikipedia notes.
Our correspondents gathered that the
fear of scandal and fraud allegation as a result of the outright
ownership of private jets had made some serving ministers and governors
to embrace the time-share lease arrangement.
A top aviation official explained,
“What European companies and some few Nigerian private jet companies are
doing now is to engage in time-share private jet lease agreement with
members of the political class, especially minister and governors.
“Through this time-share lease
arrangement, many ministers and governors now have access to the use of
private jets, as much as they want without necessarily buying or owning
them. It is a smarter way to save them from scandals and fraud
allegations that may greet the outright purchase of a jet by political
office holders.”
The official further said, “Some of them
buy as much as 15 hours or more in a month. For example, some buy 15
hours a month for six months; this equals to 90 hours. They make that
payment at once. In a year, some pay as much as $500,000 or $1m.
“The companies ask for their schedule
and make the jets available to them regularly. This is the kind of deal
the private jet companies are closing with some ministers and governors
to enable them make use of the private jets regularly without actually
owning them.”
Sources said the private jets firm had
been making millions of dollars from ministers, governors and other top
political actors in the country on annual basis through this
arrangement.
The revelation came on the heels of
recent reports that a serving minister, who is believed to be close to
the Presidency, had spent millions of dollars in the last two years
flying a Bombardier Challenger 850 plane.
An aviation group, whose contacts are
yet to be ascertained, had carried out a newspaper advertorial alleging
that the Challenger 850 plane, with registration number OE-IRA, had been
used to fly the minister in question to several destinations since 2012
when the jet came into the country.
Further investigations by our correspondents revealed that the plane was registered in Austria.
A top aviation official disclosed to our
correspondents that over 30 foreign registered planes were currently
flying in the country, carrying some serving ministers, governors and
top political figures.
Apart from the Bombardier Challenger 850
in question, aviation officials listed other brand of private jets
being flown by members of the political class in the country as Cessna
Citation Jet 3, Cessna Citation Sovereign, Embrear Legacy Jet and Hawker
Sidley.
According to the officials, most of the
jets being flown by members of the political class came through the
time-share lease arrangement.
It was learnt that the jets had foreign
registration to allow the ministers, governors and other users easy
flight access across Europe and other parts of the world since there
would not be any need to get flight clearances for each European country
whenever they needed to fly across continents.
According to industry stakeholders and
aviation experts, time-share lease agreement for private jets was
introduced by a company owned by Warren Buffet some years ago.
The model is said to be popular in the
Middle East as most wealthy Arabs who do not want to own private jets
make use of the arrangement.
The model is gradually gaining ground in Africa, particularly among the political class in Nigeria.
The Chief Executive, Finum Aviation
Consultancy, Mr. Sheri Kyari, said public office holders in the country
had for long been doing things that were detrimental to the development
of the aviation industry and the economy in general.
He said, “They are many things that
these our government officials are doing that are harmful to our
economy; that is why we see a situation where a lot of projects are left
undone, or left midway without completion.
“For instance, the number of private
jets operating in the country is too much, and the maintenance of these
jets is biting deep into the nation’s purse.
“The fact is that if these government
officials are leasing these planes from foreigners and are using their
personal funds to maintain them, it is bad for the economy; and if they
are using government’s money, then it means they are depriving the
citizens of the country and using it for their pleasure.”
“There are a lot of things that our
government should focus on; for instance, we do not have the capacity to
meet up with the needs of the citizens in various areas yet, our
government officials are engaging in activities that drain the economy,
it is rather unfortunate.”
Experts, however, say under the
time-share lease arrangement, the governors or ministers do not need to
pay for the maintenance of the aircraft
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