1 hour ago
1
October 6, 2026October 6, 2026
By Myke Uzendu, Abuja
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has raised fresh questions over funding for the maintenance of Nigerian Air Force aircraft following Monday’s fatal ATR-42 crash in Igbokoda, Ondo State, asking why the Presidential Air Fleet received substantially higher maintenance funding than the aircraft operated by the Air Force.
This is even as the party expressed sadness over the death of 20 passenger and five crew members that lost their lives in military air crash on Monday in Ondo State.
The opposition party said available budget implementation figures showed that only about 13.98 per cent of the N34.71 billion allocated for Nigerian Air Force aircraft maintenance had been released by December 2025, compared with 97.76 per cent implementation of the N20.74 billion allocated for maintenance of the Presidential Air Fleet.
The ADC said the disparity required scrutiny, particularly following the crash of the Nigerian Air Force ATR-42 aircraft in Igbokoda. The Nigerian Air Force said the aircraft was on a routine mission from Benin to Lagos when it crashed.
The aircraft was carrying military personnel and passengers. The Nigerian Air Force subsequently said 25 people—five crew members and 20 passengers—were on board and that there were no survivors.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, the ADC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, expressed condolences to the families of the victims but said the tragedy should also prompt a broader examination of defence funding and aircraft maintenance.
“While we do not intend to prejudice ongoing investigations into the cause of this tragic crash, we believe that this sad moment also provides an opportunity to raise, yet again, questions about the non-implementation of the defence budget and the perennial neglect of military equipment,” the party said.
According to the ADC, the Federal Government had released N4.5 billion, representing about 13.98 per cent of the N34.71 billion budgeted for maintenance of Nigerian Air Force aircraft as of December 2025.
It contrasted this with the N20.74 billion budgeted for maintenance of the Presidential Air Fleet, of which N20.27 billion, or 97.76 per cent, had reportedly been released.
“Put simply, while the fleet that serves a handful of people in power got almost every kobo it asked for, the fleet that serves and protects 200 million Nigerians was left with crumbs,” the party said.
The ADC stressed that it was not suggesting that inadequate maintenance caused the Ondo crash, noting that investigations into the accident were still ongoing.
“The safety of the President matters. But what also matters is the safety of the pilots and airmen who put their lives on the line in defence of the country. Patriotism does not replace spare parts, and condolence messages do not take the place of accountability,” it said.
The party therefore called for the investigation into the crash to go beyond determining the immediate cause of the accident and examine the maintenance history of the aircraft and broader defence equipment.
It also demanded an audit of maintenance expenditure and budgetary releases for the Nigerian Air Force, saying Nigerians deserved transparency on how funds allocated for military aviation were spent.
The Nigerian Air Force has commenced an investigation into the crash, while the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) said it was ready to provide technical assistance, including support in recovering and analysing flight-recorder data, at the request of the Air Force.
The ADC said the tragedy should serve as an opportunity to strengthen accountability in defence spending and ensure that military personnel entrusted with protecting the country operate properly maintained equipment.
English (US) ·