Tinubu

The Presidency has justified President Bola Tinubu’s decision to purchase a new presidential jet, worth around N150 billion, despite public outcry and widespread poverty.

Aside from the purchase of a new presidential jet, the government have been criticised for continuing in the habit of borrowing despite improved income.

According to Daniel Bwala, the President’s Special Adviser on Policy Communication, the new jet is necessary for the president’s global travels.

The government had last year unveiled a new Airbus A330 purchased for the President. The new jet, it was revealed, replaced the 19-year-old Boeing B737-700(BBJ) bought during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Asked for the justification of the purchase in Arise Television’s The Morning Show program on Tuesday, Bwala explained that the previous jet had frequent problems.

He said, “As for the purchase of the presidential jet, it’s justifiable because for the president to travel around the world, he would need a better jet.

“I understand that when Buhari was in power, occasionally his jet had problems that needed to be fixed.

“And with respect to appointment, you appoint to meet a purpose, if there is a need to appoint people you will appoint, where the trouble will come is when you appoint people and they are not effective.”

The presidential spokesman also addressed concerns about the administration’s borrowing policy. Bwala stated that borrowing is justified when funds are used for infrastructural development. He noted that Nigeria’s limited resources require borrowing to meet the government’s mandate.

His words, “When I made the decision to support the president, I decided to pay attention to his policies and doing research. In doing so I decided to look at where there failure, I tried to know why.

“For example, there was a time we had food inflation and I tried to look at what actually is the cause of the food inflation and I realized there was natural disaster in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa, while we have insecurity in the Northwest.

“The research is to find reason for whatever is the policy and where there is a misinterpretation of the policy, we will come out and give our perspective. Government is a work in progress, there is nothing magical about what I said before and what I’m saying now .

“As opposition, I opposed the government and now I speak for the government.

“The government borrows and there is a justification for borrowing. Before now, I never cared about whatever is the justification but now I realize that for the government to be able to carryout it’s mandate for the people with limited resources, it needs to borrow.

“I will give you an example, there is a research by economics that only infrastructure alone, Nigeria needs to spend between 30 to 100 billion dollars annually in other to meet up with the deficit. Or in proper perspective, over a period of 30 years, Nigeria must spend between two to three trillion dollars.

“The budget of Nigeria is less than 35 trillion dollars, so definitely you see the need to borrow, when you borrow what do you do with it is what matters. The government borrow for infrastructure and intervention in the areas where it affects Nigerian people, so there is a justification for borrowing.”