The abandoned Legacy 600 Aircraft, belonging to Rivers State, was discovered and recovered with the aid of intelligence report.
The state governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, disclosed this in a release by his Special Assistant on Media, Kelvin Ebiri.
This was as he also said the recovery and eventual return of the seemingly lost asset of the state was a reality and not mere politics.
Governor Wike spoke after receiving the Legacy 600 Aircraft that touched down on at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa in Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state, on Tuesday.
At a brief reception at the airport, some women and touths staged cultural displays to celebrate the return of the state-owned Legacy 600 Aircraft, said to have been secretly abandoned in Germany by the immediate past administration.
According to Governor Wike, the immediate past administration flew the aircraft to faraway Germany, without any record of it made available to his administration.
“To the glory of God, the plane is back and Rivers people can see, Nigerians can see. It is not that we are playing politics.
“All we are saying, we never knew, nobody told us until we got intelligence that we have this asset somewhere,” the governor said.
Wike recalled that the Legacy 600 Aircraft was purchased by the Dr. Peter Odili-led administration to serve the interest of Rivers people.
He said the aircraft was abandoned with the General Atomics Aerotec in Munich, Germany by the Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Ameachi-led administration since 2012.
“What is very important to all of us here today is that when we came into power in 2015, nobody handed over any report or gave us handover note to let us know where such asset of the state was, only for us to hear in 2019 that this asset is somewhere,” Wike said.
Governor Wike informed that because air transportation is a more technical area, great care was taken to put the Legacy 600 Aircraft into its best form to undertake air travel effectively.
The governor also stated that so much money was expended by the state government on the aircraft.
Wike said such a huge amount of money would have put into other development projects if his administration had known of it quite early.
According to him, in fixing the Legacy 600 Aircraft, certificate of air worthiness, issued by the Nigerian government, was secured for the aircraft to return to Nigeria.
“Of course, we did everything we could do and we told Nigerians that, by the grace of God, we will not allow this asset to go that way. We must return it for the people of the state to decide what they are going to do with it.
“I am so elated that, at the end of the day, all of our struggles are not in vain.
“I thank Rivers people for the support. I thank the Rivers State House of Assembly for the support. I thank the Executive for the support.
“But for their support, it would not have been possible to spend the money we spent.
“If you hear the [amount of] money we spent, it is money that would have been put in other development projects, if we were told on time of it,” Wike added.
Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon.Ikuinyi-Owaji Ibani, expressed delight that, after 10 years the Rivers State government has successfully recovered the Legacy 600 Aircraft.
He said the state government will decide how the asset will be used in furtherance of the state’s development.
Senator Barry Mpigi, representing Rivers South-East, commended Governor Wike for his tenacity to defend the interest of the state.
According to him, the recovered aircraft is an additional asset to the government and people of Rivers State
Chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers’ Council, King Dandeson Douglas Jaja, said Governor Wike has once again demonstrated his zeal to protect the interest of the state.
The traditional ruler lauded the governor for not allowing the state’s property to get lost in Europe and unaccounted for.
Two former presidents of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Onueze C. Okocha, SAN and Okey Wali, SAN, said the state governor has proven his determination to defend the interest of the state.
In the same vein, the Chief Ferdinand Alabraba and His Royal Majesty, Nne-Nwe-Eli Emohua XIII (OLO IV), Ohna Sergeant Chidi Awuse, said recovery of the aircraft remains a credit to the Governor Wike administration.
