Blog

In an apparent display of presidential powers, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday locked out the Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, some of his aides as well as other commercial passengers from Benin City, where ironically Oshiomhole is chief executive.

The President’s security apparatus, The Sun learnt, simply shut down the Benin airspace over what it called ‘VIP’ movement.

President Jonathan was said to be returning from neighbouring Delta State where he had gone for campaigns for the forthcoming April polls.

So, for over 45minutes, after it got to Benin, the Air Nigeria plane, which left the domestic wing of the Murtala Mohammed Airport at 8.30am, hovered in the skies, unable to land. Running dangerously low on fuel, the pilot had to return to Lagos, amid hisses and curses by enraged passengers, many of whom had different engagements to catch up with in Benin, Warri, and neighbouring cities.

Oshiomhole, himself, was returning from Lagos where he had gone to attend The Sun Man of the Year Award as a special guest and was billed to address a campaign rally in Owan local government area of the state.

Oshiomhole, it was gathered, had left his hotel suite at Victoria Island as early as 7.30am in order to beat the traffic and meet the early morning flight. He did not reckon he would be trapped in the air due to the now notorious ‘VIP’ movement.

He and the other stranded passengers eventually took the rescheduled flight at noon.

Even though Oshiomhole refused to speak on the incident, other embarrassed and enraged passengers, who spoke to The Sun condemned the tyrannical practice of shutting down the airspace in the guise of VIP movement.

John, a chattered accountant, who was on the flight said: “This kind of uncivilised behaviour must stop. We are not in the jungle. How can you shut down the airspace because the president, vice-president, senate president or speaker of the House is airborne? What if we had run out of fuel and had a crash? Is the president’s life more precious than that of the ordinary citizen? What kind of oppression by man against his fellow man is this? This nonsense cannot continue.”

Another passenger, who preferred anonymity, said: “It is only in this country you have this kind of behaviour. What if we had had a crash? God forbid. I was terribly scared.

“The president must apologise for this uncivilised conduct. We are tired of government officials behaving as if they are more important than the people who put them there. They just behave like emperors. It is a shame!..