Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, has lambasted private aircraft charter operator, Executive Jet Services, for linking him to the flight which took singer, Azeez Fashola aka Naira Marley, to Abuja over the weekend.
The singer, alongside ex-Big Brother Naija housemate, Kim Oprah, and eight others boarded the company’s flight in violation of travel ban which resulted in the suspension of the firm’s licence by the Federal Government on Monday.
After the federal government suspended the airline, the Chairman/CEO of the company, Sam Iwuajoku, wrote in a letter dated June 15 and addressed to the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, to apologise for the violation, saying he thought the flight was booked for the minister.
However, Fashola, in a statement on Tuesday by his spokesman, Hakeem Bello, said it was ‘ridiculous’ to link him to the flight.
The statement read: “For purposes of clarity and in order to set the records straight, the Hon. Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN, has not travelled out of Abuja since March 22, 2020, when he returned there after an inspection tour of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway construction work and a visit to Lagos, before the lockdown.
“The decision of the Minister not to travel was taken in strict compliance with the Federal Government’s ban on inter-state travels as part of efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It is therefore ridiculous for Dr Iwuajoku to attempt to link the Hon. Minister with any noncompliant flight.”