The Federal Government has suspended a charter and aircraft maintenance firm, Executive Jet Services, for flouting aviation restriction guidelines by flying a musician, Azeez Fashola aka Naira Marley, to Abuja to attend a concert.
The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, revealed this during the Presidential Task Force briefing in Abuja on Monday.
Sirika stated that the aircraft which conveyed the musician was supposed to fly an Appeal Court Judge, Justice Adefope Okogie, from Lagos to Abuja.
He said, “The operation is a clear violation of our approval which we take very seriously. It seems this is becoming a norm. This is the second time. So, Executive Jet Services is hereby suspended indefinitely and they will face the law.
“The captain will also be sanctioned for giving wrong information to the control tower. It seems also that people are not tired of trying our resolve and we are not tired of living up to our responsibilities. Governance is a serious matter.”
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The minister also declared that the government would henceforth be stricter in granting approvals for private flights.
He said, “The person on that flight conducted a concert. We approved a flight, certainly not for a musician. The flight was approved to convey Honourable Justice Adefope Okogie from Lagos to Abuja and then back to Lagos for an official assignment.
“In this challenging time, in our wisdom, we decided that the judiciary was part of the essential services. Moving a judge from Lagos to Abuja was in order.”
