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Bishop Oyedepo acquires $30m jet, builds private hanger

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on April 8, 2011 at 4:08am
Bishop David Oyedepo, founder of Winners Chapel International is reported to have increased the number of jets in his hanger. The new aircraft is estimated to be worth a whooping $30m. 

This therefore brings the number of his private jets to four. .

The private jet, a Gulfstream V was declared to the over 10, 000 worshipers who thronged Canaanland on Sunday March 27th, by the bishop himself. 

The bishop said the new jet will be used exclusively for the ministry's African Mission. 

In his speech on Sunday, the bishop also announced that a state-of-the art private aircraft hanger that can accommodate five jets at a time is being built for his jets near the international wing of Murtala Mohammed International Airport.

Four jets

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Bishop David Oyedepo cruising in one of his jets
Apart from this latest acquisition, the bishop has a Gulfstream 1 which he acquired in 1996, a Gulfstream 4 and a Challenger Aircraft.

When the spokesperson for the church, known only as Mr William, was contacted, he confirmed the story. 

"Yes, Bishop announced the purchase of a jet on Sunday," he said.
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AIR DISASTER :90 feared dead as Ethiopian Airlines jet plunges into sea off Lebanon

Posted by 9jabook.com on January 25, 2010 at 11:52pm
Investigators were tonight carrying out DNA tests on severely burned bodies recovered from the sea after an Ethiopian Airlines flight carrying 90 people caught fire during a lightning storm and crashed into the Mediterranean minutes after taking off from Beirut. As darkness fell no survivors had been found in the stormy waters off Lebanon, despite search and rescue efforts by the country's military, UN naval peacekeepers and units from nearby Cyprus who were tonight joined by British and French helicopter teams. The plane's 83 passengers included 56 Lebanese – two with dual British nationality – 22 Ethiopians and individuals from Canada, Syria, Iraq and Russia, as well as the American-born wife of the French ambassador to Lebanon. By tonight at least 34 bodies had been recovered. Lebanon's National News Agency tonight confirmed that 57-year-old Afif Karshat was one of two Lebanese with dual British nationality among the casualties. Lebanon's president, Michel Suleiman, said terrorism was not suspected in the crash of the Boeing 737-800, which was headed for the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. "Sabotage is ruled out as of now," he said. Lebanon's defence minister, Elias Murr, blamed bad weather for the crash. An official investigation has been launched, but the plane's black box has yet to be recovered. Several eyewitnesses reported hearing an explosion and seeing a ball of flame in the sky just after 2.30am today, during a fierce winter thunderstorm. "There was huge thunder and it was raining like crazy. The lightning was coming down from the clouds. The electricity had gone out, but I couldn't sleep. Then I heard an explosion," said Hassan Ramadan, a 39-year-old engineering contractor from Khalde, just a few miles from where the plane went down. "I thought it was a building collapsing. I opened the window and saw a huge flame going down in different pieces. I can't believe what happened. You usually only see that on TV," he said. The prime minister, Saad Hariri, who toured the crash site by helicopter, declared a day of mourning in honour of the dead. "This is a tragedy for Lebanon, and we are working to find the missing passengers," he told reporters. Divers from the country's tiny navy were on the scene within a couple of hours of the crash and continued to be winched in and out of the churning grey seas throughout the day as the bodies and personal belongings of passengers washed up on beaches just south of the capital. Mothers and relatives of those killed wept and screamed as ambulances brought the burned bodies for identification at the governmental hospital in Beirut. At the airport families of those missing sat in shock, waiting for news, some weeping silently, others collapsing as they tried to walk outside. Specialist trauma psychologists were sent to the airport to try and comfort distraught families. "We've never suffered a catastrophe like this air crash before in Lebanon," said Dr Mirna Ghannage, from the Centre for Mental Health. Riad Ismael's 36-year-old nephew Yasser was among those missing. Like so many in this nation of expatriates, Yasser had left Lebanon soon after graduating, having been unable to find a job. After five years working in a Lebanese restaurant in London he moved to Sudan to pursue his speciality – computer engineering – before starting his own business in Angola. The young father had taken time off to fly home to Lebanon via Ethiopia to visit his wife and two children, aged five and two. "When we find answers to who is responsible for this crash we have to ask another question: why does the young generation of Lebanese have to live in exile?" said Riad Ismael, the mayor of a village near the south Lebanon town of Nabatiyeh. "Yasser is like all young guys in Lebanon. , His motives were to build a better future and provide for his family. He was far away from his family and always wanted to return home. He came home to give them money and then died. It is a tragedy." Many of the Ethiopians killed in the crash were also economic migrants, but in the reverse direction – young women who left homes and families to travel to Lebanon to work as domestic helpers in the homes of wealthy Lebanese. Many are treated as little more than slaves, human rights activists claim. In many cases servants go unpaid, are confined indoors and made to work long hours seven days a week. Some are beaten and even sometimes raped. "Why do you Lebanese never treat us good?" screamed one Ethiopian woman as security forces prevented her from entering the governmental hospital in Beirut today to identify a body. "We are human beings like you. God created us. Why don't I have the right to come in and see my sister?" Outside the hospital a group of Ethiopian women stood quietly in a corner, waiting for news of friends on the flight – young women like the friend they knew as Warkey, who arrived in Lebanon to work for a family in Nabatiyeh, "She had worked for two years and her family had not paid her salary once," said one of Warkey's friends, who asked not to be named. "She even had to buy her own clothes. So she ran away and I took her in. But she said she missed her parents so much and had to go home. She was only 20. "We went to the embassy and they did not help. Because she had run away and did not have any papers, she ended up being arrested and put in prison," she said, her dark brown eyes welling up with tears. "They let her out of prison on Saturday and drove her to the airport, so she could take that flight."
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Legislator acquires private jet . Says its cheaper than cars

Posted by Jane Okinedo on June 15, 2009 at 8:18pm
After six years as a member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Bala Ibn Na’Allah has made history as the first lawmaker in the country since independence to fly a private jet. He acquired the aircraft recently in the United States of America (USA).Hon Bala Ibn Na’Allahadvertisement http://www.ask9ja.com classifiedsHis recent diatribes against criminality in the Niger Delta struggle, which had attracted flaks notwithstanding, Na’Allah, a lawyer by profession, who became very popular at the Oputa Panel, qualified as a pilot after undergoing training at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology in Zaria.He was certified to fly an aircraft after he undertook a successful solo flight under the supervision of a professional pilot, according to international practice.Representing Zuru/Fakai/Zakaba/ Dawazagu Federal Constituency of Kebbi State in the House of Representatives, N’ Allah recently flew the small aircraft in the company of this writer from Kaduna to Abuja on a day the weather was clement in the morning, but became turbulent in the evening.Sitting next to him in the cockpit as ‘co-pilot’, one marveled as Na’Allah displayed his dexterity in manipulating and navigating the aircraft through the cloudy weather between Kaduna and Abuja .“There is a way the weather will tell you if it is going to be bad. This is one of the beauties of flying,” he pointed out before entering the aircraft.Apart from the weather telling you what would happen in the next few hours, Na’Allah explained that the aircraft has a way of telling the pilot when it is not ready to fly.“If the aircraft is not ready to fly, it will tell you during the pre-flight check, which must be carried out before any flight is undertaken,” Na’Allah said.As a matter of routine, a pilot must first obtain weather forecast for his/her route from the meteorological station.On this very day, Nallah obtained the weather forecast for Kaduna-Abuja route from the weather station. He came back smiling that the weather was okay, but that “we have to be airborne quickly to avoid rough weather later in the day around Abuja airspace.”Before jumping into the aircraft for the Abuja trip, he carried out the check, he gauged the pressure level, checked the tyre and the fuel levels, and the journey was underway.Watching him manipulating the buttons and communicating with Kano, Abuja and Kaduna airports was a delight. He sought and got clearance from the Kaduna Control Towers before entering the runaway to make way for an in-coming big aircraft.He was cleared to take off and established contact with Kano that he was airborne; and then Abuja to prepare for his landing in less than one hour.Kaduna told him the altitude he must fly to avoid troubled weather. He shared the information with Kano and Abuja and the weather situation at take off.When he gained balance and stabilized the aircraft, he opened discussion with his ‘co-pilot’, not on the weather forecast or the technicality of getting the aircraft off the ground and maintaining a balance against an unstable weather.Why should Na’Allah be interested in flying, a risky thing at this stage of his life, even when he had made it as a lawyer and as a politician? He said flying was the best thing that has ever happened to him.“I am enjoying it more than anything. To fly is the easiest thing to do. I have come to realize it. In fact, if it is possible, I won’t mind flying an aircraft from my bedroom to the toilet,” he said.The high death toll resulting from crash landing and disappearance of aircraft has not instilled any fear in Na’Allah. He was emphatic that cumulatively, the number of death resulting from road accidents was far higher than that recorded from the air.“Flying is million times safer than driving on the roads. Unlike the roads where you have mad drivers that can drive you crazy, there is nothing like that on air.“The number of air mishaps is not comparable with the number of auto crashes we record on daily basis on our roads. Do you know that you cannot jump into an aircraft without knowing the weather forecast? You can’t hop into the aircraft for a journey without certifying the health status of the aircraft,” he explained.Furthermore, he said, “the safety of the pilot, the aircraft and the passengers is paramount and standards have been set internationally to guarantee this without any compromise. This is the only means of transportation that is programmed, monitored and sustained.Unlike in the USA where several senators and members of the House of Representatives own and fly their private jets, acquiring jets in Nigeria is elitist by all standards.Na’Allah agreed that it might look elitist to own a private jet, but insisted that it was cheaper for him to maintain his small aircraft, than to maintain some cars in his garage. Na’Allah was a car dealer before venturing into politics.“The experience I have gathered since I took delivery of my aircraft showed that it was far, far cheaper to maintain than maintaining my cars. Can you imagine that a return flight from Abuja to Zuru, my village will cost me 50 litres of petrol, whereas, my Jeep will consume over 200 litres?” he queried rhetorically.In terms of time, he explained, by road the same journey will take between seven and eight hours, whereas, it will take one hour, 40 minutes by air. “In Zuru, my village, there is an air strip, don’t forget, I am representing the home of generals, not to talk of Kebbi with an Airport. In most cities in Nigeria , there are places to accommodate light aircraft for landing and take off, said Na’Allah.Still debunking insinuation that acquiring a jet is a display of ostentation in the midst of poverty, Na’Allah said that the cost of servicing his Propellered-CESSNA-172 model was not up to the price of 2008 model of Toyota or Honda products.“To service it after a mandatory 50-hour flight, which is the equivalent of servicing a car, costs less than N50,000. And for maintenance, the retainership fee with Aviation Maintenance Organization [AMO] per annum is about N200,000.“Precisely, he said that the C-172 air craft manufactured in 1971 and registered with Nigeria ’s aviation authorities as 5N-BRT cost him about $48,000 to acquire.For his landing fee at any of the airports in the country, the charge paid is N200, while the three tyres cost $182 to replace every three years, depending on the number of successful landing.“In all, you will see that it is very cheap to maintain this air craft than to maintain the latest car in the market. I am not a Christian, but I understand that the Bible says that ‘my people perishes because of lack of knowledge’.“I think if people know that it is cheaper to acquire and maintain a small air craft like my own, many Nigerians would not hesitate to get one today, than the craze for buying flashy cars, with armed robbers trailing you, not to talk of bad roads and frequent car crash,” he said.The idea of owning a jet and flying it came to the law maker after years of consultancy in Aviation Insurance. And to achieve his aim, Na’Allah enrolled at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) in Zaria for training as a non-professional pilot.He graduated and was certified to fly before he jetted out to South Africa for further training in type rating.He explained: “Type rating is the training in the category of aircraft you can fly. If you want to fly another category of aircraft, you must undergo fresh training and certified by another pilot, unlike driving just any car so long as you have your driving license.”Economically, he said that it was even wiser and cheaper to invest in air strips than put roads everywhere.
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Air France jet and 228people dissapear over Atlantic

Posted by 9jabook.com on June 1, 2009 at 2:07am
An Air France jet carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris hit strong turbulence and lost contact with air traffic controllers over the Atlantic Ocean, officials said Monday. Brazil began a search mission off its northeastern coast. Air France Flight 447, an Airbus A330, had 216 passengers and 12 crew members on board, company spokeswoman Brigitte Barrand said. The flight left Rio on Sunday at 7 p.m. local time (2200 GMT Sunday). About four hours later, the plane sent an automatic signal indicating electrical problems while going through strong turbulence, Air France said. Naija Idol Naija has Got Talent !The 9th Factor ! The plane "crossed through a thunderous zone with strong turbulence" at 0200 GMT Monday (10 p.m. EDT Sunday). An automatic message was received at 0214 GMT (10:14 p.m. EDT Sunday) "signaling electrical circuit malfunction." The plane disappeared about 190 miles (300 kilometers) northeast of the coastal Brazilian city of Natal, near the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, a Brazilian air force spokesman said. The air force began a search began Monday morning near Fernando de Noronha, he added, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with air force policy. The region is about 1,500 miles northeast of Rio. Air France said the 216 passengers included one infant, seven children, 82 women and 126 men. It says the plane entered service in 2005 and last underwent maintenance April 16. A police official on Fernando de Noronha said the weather was clear last night into this morning.
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