Senate President Godswill Akpabio denied receiving any request from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for Senate approval of funds for a new presidential jet.
Akpabio made this statement after a closed-door meeting with senators on Thursday.
The senators had ended their recess early to attend an emergency session to discuss extending the 2023 supplementary appropriation act to December 31, 2024, as requested by President Tinubu.
“I have never had that correspondence to approve the purchase of a plane.
“We care about the President and we care about the Nigerian people. We will approve things that will benefit the Nigerian people.
“We will approve things that would improve the living standards of the people. At the same time, we will also take cognisance of the duties of the President.
“If his vehicle is bad, we will repair the vehicle. If his plane is bad, we will approve money for the repair of the plane. So that is not an issue. There is nothing before us. I don’t think you should worry about it.
“That is what you can call anticipated blackmail. The professors of the story know very well that maybe there is a problem with the presidential fleet and that where they will go will be the parliament.
”And so they are now trying to do anticipated blackmail to tell us if they bring it, do not look into it.
“So I think that we should ignore them because of what we are doing here. I read the president’s correspondence to us.
“Nothing was touching on a plane or no plane,” Akpabio said.
Senate leader Michael Opeyemi Bamidele had earlier dismissed reports that President Tinubu requested funds for a new presidential jet, stating no such request had been made. He attributed the rumours to troublemakers and propagandists.