The
Comptroller General of Customs, Hamid Ali was spotted flying first class on
British Airways flight from London to Abuja, on Tuesday, according to PREMIUM
TIMES exclusive report.
The
move is a clear violation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive banning
public officials from flying first class.The president had earlier this year
directed the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, to issue a circular to all
government agencies barring top officials from travelling first class, a
measure put in place to cut the high cost of travelling by public officials.
According
to PREMIUM TIMES:
The
BA flight BA83 which took off from Gate 43 of Heathrow Terminal 5, London, on
Tuesday, nearly an hour behind its scheduled 10.43pm departure time, arrived
the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Wednesday morning at about
5a.m, with Mr. Ali on board.
The
reasons for Mr. Ali’s travel to London remained unknown as at the time of
publishing this report, but customs insiders said the trip was official.
Several
passengers on the flight told PREMIUM TIMES they saw Mr. Ali seated in the
First Class compartment of the aircraft during the flight.
"It
was a major talking point among some passengers whether the policy (barring
public officials from flying first class) is being implemented with exceptions
or whether it is meant for the shelves," one passenger on the flight told
this newspaper.
There
were notable Nigerians on board and a number of them confirmed to this
newspaper that the customs comptroller-general was in the first class cabin of
the aircraft during the flight.
A
first class ticket to and from London costs $11,423.23 (about N3.4million).
Besides
being a close friend of Mr. Buhari, Mr. Ali, a retired army colonel, is a man
seen by many Nigerian as frugal and incorruptible.
When
PREMIUM TIMES contacted the customs spokesperson, Wale Adeniyi, on Thursday, he
confirmed Mr. Ali was on the BA flight, but that he travelled on a business
class ticket. Mr. Adeniyi was not on the flight, and he responded to our
reporter’s enquiry without checking with Mr. Ali. But our sources, some of whom
travelled business class, said Mr. Adeniyi’s claim was inaccurate.
"That
is not true,"one passenger said. "I was on business class, and I was
awake most of the flight. So if you line up those on business class during that
flight, I can identify them."
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