EXCITING NEWS: TNG WhatsApp Channel is LIVE…
Subscribe for FREE to get LIVE NEWS UPDATE. Click here to subscribe!
The controversial use of a presidential jet for non-official and personal purposes by Seyi Tinubu, the son of President Bola Tinubu, has stirred outrage and condemnation.
On Sunday, Seyi Tinubu was flown to Kano in a presidential jet to attend the finals of the Kano International Polo Tournament, an event he attended as a polo enthusiast and patron of a Lagos-based polo team.
Reports confirm the presidential jet landed in Kano on Sunday, where Seyi Tinubu was welcomed by officials of the presidency, Kano State government, and the Kano Polo Club.
He was then transported under heavy security to the Usman Dantata Polo Ground for the tournament’s final matches.
Once the event concluded, the presidential jet ferried him and his associates back to Abuja, the nation’s capital where he resides.
Even before this incident, Seyi Tinubu had been known for frequent use of the presidential jet for personal travels, either accompanied by his father or associates.
Nigerians have raised concerns about the misuse of government resources and have called for the responsible use of national assets and stricter adherence to ethical conduct by public figures.
Jaafar Jaafar, a Nigerian journalist based in London, expressed his discontent on X (formerly Twitter).
Jaafar wrote: “Here’s Tinubu’s golden child, Seyi, travelling in a presidential jet to watch polo in Kano… Even if our laws are vague on this, one thing is clear: this is an offence to the moral code of leadership.”
Another X user, Bello Anka, added, “What about the misuse of a special forces unit as his bodyguards? See them in the pictures. The other day, he was skateboarding in Abuja with them running alongside. This perpetuates the culture of impunity from the previous government, possibly on an even larger scale this time.”
However, the controversy surrounding the misuse of the presidential jet is not new, as it has been previously criticised during the tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari, when his youngest daughter Hanan, used the presidential jet for a private trip.
Reacting to the incident, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, pointed that “the official policy does not authorise the children of the President to use the presidential jets to attend to private social functions”.
Falana reiterated, “Using of the aircraft in the presidential fleet by members of the first family to attend to private engagements is not backed by any extant law or official policy”.