Little over a month after a private jet conveying Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi was grounded at the Akure airport on his way back from the burial of the late Ekiti State Deputy Governor, late Mrs Funmi Olayinka, a similar scenario played out yesterday in which the helicopter conveying the Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomole was grounded by the National Airspace Management Authority (NAMA) on his way to Anambra State for the burial of the wife of Senator Ben Obi.
The chopper was recalled to the airport for normal clearance but it was gathered that after the exercise preparatory for take-off, the pilot, Captain James Manahash of the Philippines, was told that the plane belonging to OAS Helicopters won’t be granted clearance to fly.
Oshiomhole was said to have been left inside the chopper for almost 1 hour and, when it was obvious that he could not be allowed to fly, the trip was aborted.
A visibly angry Oshiomhole refused to talk but entered his official car and headed for his home town Iyamoh.
In his reaction, the Benin Airspace acting manager, who simply identified himself as Okolie, said, “I don’t have anything for you. If anyone said his aircraft was grounded by us, ask him why.”
The Aviation Ministry, in its response, said that the helicopter conveying the Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, was not grounded, but only asked to obey extant rules.
The Coordinating Manager, Information and Communications for Aviation Parastatals, Yakubu Datti, said the aircraft was only called back to fill its manifest and make some payments which the pilot had failed to do.
“The helicopter picked the governor from Government House in Benin. By procedure, the pilot was supposed to file manifest and all other procedures, but because these were not done before take-off, NAMA called them down to do all those things.
“Of course you cannot just pick someone up and fly over the airport just like that,” Datti said
Speaking to newsmen, Capt. Manahash said, “I was surprised that I was recalled after taking off from Government House because I had communicated with the control tower on radio. We were already airborne when we got the call to return to the airport and even threatened that failure to do so would lead to complete grounding of the aircraft. The governor prevailed on me to return and listen to them.
“When we got back to the airport, I was told to pay landing and aerodrome fees which ordinarily we could pay later because we were already airborne. Even after completion of the process of payment within 10 minutes, we were still delayed for 1 hour 15 minutes, with the governor still seated and thereafter he left in anger. I am surprised by this development because this is not the first time I would be coming to Benin to fly the governor.
“I was even threatened after payment that the aircraft would be grounded completely if I argued with them. I have flown for 35 years, seven of which I spent in Nigeria and this is the first time I am encountering a situation like this. I did not know what problem they have with the governor,” Manahash said.
The managing director of OAS Helicopters, Mr Everest Nnaji, who was contacted, expressed shock over the incident, saying, “I am still making calls to find out exactly why they did not allow the pilot fly the helicopter conveying the governor to Anambra State. I am really angry. I don’t know why they did that and that is why I am still trying to make contact because we have no problems with NAMA.”
The special adviser (media) to the governor, Kassim Afegbua, said the development could be linked to the presidency, noting that they wanted to “visit Amaechi’s treatment on Governor Oshiomhole”.
Afegbua alleged that the incident was connected to the ongoing alleged onslaught against governors believed to have played a role in the re-election of Governor Amaechi as chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF).
In their reactions to the grounding, the Congress for Progressive Change described the grounding of the aircraft as the antics of a “dying regime”, with its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, saying that the action had the imprints of the Presidency.
He said, “That is what you see with dying regimes. They lose focus, vision and start to bare their fangs.
“Can you imagine President Obama grounding the aircraft of an opponent just because they disagree politically? May be we are getting to a level where pedestrians will be grounded.
“I wonder if Oshiomole had declared intention to run for the office of President in 2015, because that is usually what happens when someone shows interest.
“It is the level of our development. This too shall pass.”
In their own reaction, the All Nigeria Peoples Party’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Emma Eneukwu, said, “Aggression is the outward manifestation of frustration. The present Federal Government is frustrated and has resorted to hunting imaginary opponents. Suspending governors, grounding aircraft and issuing threats are all signs of despondency. A popular government has no business intimidating and coercing the opposition.”
But the Presidency said there was no truth in the claims by opposition parties that the grounding of the helicopter was political.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, told one of our correspondents that the issue had nothing to do with the President.
He said NAMA as a statutory body has the responsibility to discharge its constitutional duties according to the law.
He added that it is the responsibility of the pilot to abide by the rule of the aviation industry, irrespective of the status of his passengers.
Abati added that Oshiomhole, being a respecter of the rule of law, would not encourage anybody to do otherwise.
He said, “It is not true that President Jonathan is behind this. It is wrong to say so. It has nothing to do with the President.
“NAMA is a statutory body. It has the responsibility to discharge its duties according to the law. It is important that we abide by the rules notwithstanding who is involved. There is nothing political about it.
“No matter who his passengers may be, the pilot has the duty to respect the law. Even Governor Oshiomhole who believes in the rule of law will not encourage anybody to flout the rules.”
Oshiomhole has been a staunch supporter of his Rivers State counterpart in his battle with Plateau State Governor, Jonah Jang, over the headship of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum.
The Edo governor had last Friday issued a statement denouncing attempts by Jang to claim the chairmanship of the forum. He had noted that Amaechi was duly elected for a second term at the NGF election on May 24 in Abuja.
In the April incident involving Amaechi, NAMA had explained that the Rivers governor’s aircraft was operating illegally in Nigeria, an explanation which was keenly contested by the state government.
Aviation authorities also said a charter services company, Caverton, had denied any link to flight clearances allegedly obtained in its name for the Bombadier jet. The Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, had also alleged that the aircraft did not have a valid flight clearance for its operations on April 26, 2013 as the last one obtained for the aircraft expired on April 2, 2013.
But the state government through the Commissioner for Information, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, had described the aviation minister’s claims as a “deliberate distortion of facts.”
The House of Representatives stepped into the matter on April 30 and mandated its committees on aviation and justice to investigate the issue.
In a May 14 report, the panel blamed the ministry for the incident. The ministry, however, refuted the report, as it declared that the aircraft operators had failed to make necessary documentation in respect of the jet.
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