Buying Presidential Jet While Nigerians Go Hungry Is Failure – Ex-Gov Donald Duke To President Tinubu

Former Governor of Cross River, Donald Duke, has criticized President Bola Tinubu’s decision to acquire a new presidential jet, calling it a “failure in leadership” given the current hunger and hardship faced by many Nigerians.

The presidency announced last week that it had acquired a new Airbus A330 to replace the 19-year-old Boeing B737-700 that it had bought under former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration.

“There is no glamour in saying your people are going through hard times; it is a failure of your leadership. If I am the head of a family, I want my family to have everything. I don’t want life to be difficult for them,” he said while featuring on Inside Sources, a Channels TV programme, on Friday.

“If life is difficult, then I feel I have failed to provide for them or do the things I ought to have done. I would ask him (Tinubu) to see the Nigerian nation as his family. What is good for his family is good for the nation.

“Buying a new aircraft or yacht or living large is a failure. You can’t have kids who are hungry and you are living lavishly, going to parties and wearing the biggest agbada.”

Speaking on the security challenges facing the country, Duke urged President Tinubu to hold the heads of security agencies accountable and emphasized that there should be consequences for the poor performance of security officers.

He said, “Hold the security agencies responsible for a failure of security. There should be consequences. You cannot sit down and say you are a DPO, commissioner of police or you are GOC and crime is being committed in your domain. Hold them responsible.”

The former governor also urged President Tinubu to address the country’s economic challenges by seeking local solutions.

“The IMF or the World Bank would not give you those textbook solutions. It has to be an indigenous solution to our problems,” he said.