Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State spent $10
million over a twenty-five trips or 600 hours of service. The governor hired a
private jet, a Canadian Challenger 604 from Swiss-based Vista jet, an
investigation by SaharaReporters has revealed.
Mr. Akpabio paid the sum to the jet charter company owned in
part by Kola Aluko. Mr. Aluko is known to be quite close to Nigeria’s Petroleum
Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, and has been described as one of a few fronts
for the minister’s extensive money laundering schemes.
Mr. Aluko was also
instrumental to the private jet provided to the Nigerian Petroleum minister who
caused the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to spent N10 billion
naira to charter another Vista jet, Challenger 850 Aircraft marked OE-ILA which
has now been moved out of Nigeria following an investigation launched by the
House of Representatives.
The charter jet used by the governor was registered in
Switzerland as OE-INI. The governor and his entourage used the jet on trips
within Nigeria and Europe within the period. Records seen by SaharaReporters
indicated that Mr. Akpabio spent close to $400,000 per day for the period of
the jet charter, which started in January 2010.
Mr. Akpabio later purchased a Bombardier jet for $45 million
in 2012. SaharaReporters reported exclusively on the governor’s purchase of the
jet.
A few months after splurging on the jet, Governor Akpabio
also bought a bullet-proof van from a US armory company for $1 million dollars.
In 2012, Vista jet made at least 900 trips within the
Nigerian airspace using four jets that were making at least three landings per
day.
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