OLADIPUPO AWOJOBI 
President of the Senate, Dr Ahmad Lawan, has reportedly shunned the privilege of flying in the presidential jet as he crisscrosses the length and breadth of Nigeria, meeting delegates ahead of the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary elections.. The race to the 2023 presidential elections started few months back with gladiators and aspirants vying for the office moving from one location to the other to sell their candidature across the country.
Under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), two of the leading aspirants, hoping to take over from President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023, are the nation’s Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo and the President of the Nigerian Senate, Ahmad Lawan. Saturday Telegraph gathered that while the Vice President went round the country to campaign for the office in presidential jets, a move which has raised eyebrows in the country, the Senate President, despite being the number three citizens of the country with access to presidential jets, went on the campaign trips essentially through the support from two of his friends, who are also senators.
Lawan, said to be highly favoured for the office, based on his exemplary performances in office, felt it would be wrong to go on jets funded by public money to embark on personal trips. Osinbajo went round the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to woo delegates and other stakeholders of the APC ahead of the presidential primary. However, it was learnt that the vice president, who declared for the presidential race on April 11, conducted his tour of the states using the 16-seater presidential jet, which puts the burden on public resources. The Boeing 727-2N6 with registration no. 5N-FGN aircraft was used to fly to Maiduguri, Borno State, on Monday as part of his consultation. The aircraft consumes at least 4,500 litres per hour of flight.
Currently, a litre of aviation fuel known as Jet A1, which has been on a steady increase in recent times, presently costs between N550 and N600 depending on the location. On the other hand, sources close to the Senate President have revealed that he (Lawan) never considered the idea of using presidential jets for his campaign trips and that “he believes that things must done in the proper way and he is set to show good examples as a leading public official with potential to be the next president of the country.”
