Entertainment
Naira Marley, airline ‘impersonate’ Babatunde Fashola
I thought it was the Honourable Minister of Works going to Abuja with his men, So we decided to do the flight since (he) is a serving minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I didn’t know that it was a bunch of useless people
…’I didn’t know that it was a bunch of useless people’
BY NICHOLAS ABE
Controversial afro pop singer Naira Marley and Executive Jets Services Ltd may have impersonated the Minister of Works, Mr Babatunde Fashola, in order to beat the lockdown of Nigerian airspace.
Marley and his team had been flown to Abuja and back to Lagos for an open-air musical concert on Saturday June 13 at Jabi Mall, by Executive Jets. The airline has since been suspended and the mall shut for what the authorities attributed to contraventions of the guidelines on the fight against COVID-19.
The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, who announced the suspension of the airline during the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 media briefing in Abuja on Monday acknowledged that the airline was given approval but not for Naira Marley and the other passengers conveyed.
Sirika said, “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.
“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.”
In a letter of apology, “Re: Flight For 13/06/2020 Done By Executive Jets Services Ltd To Abuja”, dated 15th June 2020 by Executive Jets and addressed to the Minister of Aviation, the airline Chairman/CEO Dr Sam Iwuajoku said he thought it was Fashola, the minister, whose name was on the list when he checked the manifest.
“I didn’t know that it was a bunch of useless people,” Iwuajoku claimed, referring to Naira Marley whose real name is Azeez Fashola and his crew.
The letter reads: “We hereby apologise for the above flight with your permit ref: FMA/ATMD/0175/V/V/1268 dated 11th June 2020.
“Please the flight was to carry a judge to Abuja on Sunday, 14th, June 2020 as requested and permit was granted based on the application, but unfortunately when I called the Judge on Saturday morning to inform him that we have the permit, he then said he has reached Abuja already with a different flight that someone gave him a lift to Abuja.
So on Saturday morning, 13th June 2020, my staff called me that they have a charter flight to Abuja, and that the passengers are already in the lounge. As a rule, passenger manifest is always sent to me before departure, when I went through the manifest and saw FASHOLA BABATUNDE, I thought it was the Honourable Minister of Works going to Abuja with his men, So we decided to do the flight since (he) is a serving minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I didn’t know that it was a bunch of useless people.
“We are very sorry for this mistake and we promise that this would not happen again.”