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Osinbajo Replies Aviation Professionals: Only Nigerian Pilots Fly Me

February 7, 2019

A tweet by Akande on Thursday read: “For the record: all the (plane or chopper) pilots that fly the Vice President are Nigerians. Ignore any insinuations or suggestions to the contrary.”

The Nigerian government says only Nigerian pilots are in the employ of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

That was the position of Laolu Akande, the Vice President’s spokesman, on Thursday, in his reaction to the claim by a group of aviation professionals that foreigners were the pilots flying the Vice President.

The group, the Aviation Round Table (ART), had issued a statement on Wednesday, saying: “We are deeply concerned about the management of security of the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is embarrassing to see the Vice President of Nigeria being flown by a foreign pilot whether contracted or chartered in a Nigerian Police helicopter as noticed in a previous flight during this campaign season.”[story_link align="left"]66856[/story_link]

Concerns about Osinbajo’s flight safety came to the fore when a chopper conveying him and 11 other people crash-landed in Kogi State on February 2, 2019. [story_link align="left"]66737[/story_link]

However, the Vice President has denied being flown by foreigners.

A tweet by Akande on Thursday read: “For the record: all the (plane or chopper) pilots that fly the Vice President are Nigerians. Ignore any insinuations or suggestions to the contrary.”

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