Naira Marley Blasts Airline CEO Over Explanation On Abuja Flight

Nigerian musician Azeez Fashola, popularly known as Naira Marley, has described the management of Executive Jets Services Limited as “arrogant and silly”.

Naira Marley, in a statement on his verified Twitter handle, @officialnairam1, was reacting to comments credited to the management of Executive Jet Services Limited, in which the firm’s Chief Executive Officer Dr. Sam Iwuajoku, in his apology to the Federal Government, described him and others who boarded the airline’s controversial flight to Abuja from Lagos at the weekend as a “bunch of useless people”.

Iwuajoku, in his letter of apology addressed to the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, explained that it was a mix-up, having thought that the flight which was originally permitted to carry a judge to Abuja, was conveying the Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola and his men.

He said: “I didn’t know it was a bunch of useless people”.

But, the musician, in a statement, said: “The cost of living working-class/middle-class is too high. The fact that the Almighty has blessed you shouldn’t make u look down on anyone! Mr. Executive Jet calling us useless is not only defamation but oppressive. The statement by the CEO is arrogant and silly. #NobodyIsUseless.

“Do you know that over 20,000 Marlians travel on Executive Jet a month? We won’t be using your useless airline again for calling us useless. Thank God we didn’t crash on that flight because we nearly did. We didn’t book the flight ourselves.”

However, in less than 24 hours after it received indefinitely banned by Federal Government, the airline’s management admitted yesterday that its personnel did not observe all necessary protocols that resulted in the mix-up in the operations that airlifted the musician at the weekend.

This is just as the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) described the “mix-up in identity” excuse by Executive Jets Services Limited as “laughable”.

The NCAA said the extant regulations require the airline to authenticate the names on the passengers’ manifest before the flight.

Besides being laughable, the regulator described the action of the airline as abuse of regulation, which is only possible for non-scheduled flight operations during emergency situations, where the Minister of Aviation, according to Section 36 of the Civil Aviation Act, gives approval for such flight.

The airline, in a statement signed by its Public Relations Manager, Babatunde Olonade, however, said the company has reviewed the circumstances surrounding the controversial operations and realised its ground crew made a mistake.

The company said it has commenced full-scale investigations to determine what transpired with a view to ensuring such infraction does not repeat itself.

The airline also clarified that it does not have issues with Naira Marley and his team, saying “it holds its passengers in high esteem at all times”.

Investigations by The Nation revealed that the name, Naira Marley, was not in the passenger manifest given to Executive Jet Services Limited, but “Fashola Babatunde”, who the airline presumed to be Minister of Works and Housing and nine other passengers, which were shortlisted for the flight.

Investigations revealed that though the airline had secured approval for the airlift of a judge, Justice Adefope Okoji , who was already in Abuja.

Same approval was used to fly “Fashola Babatunde”, who later turned out to be Naira Marley and his entourage.

A source hinted that when Justice Okoji was contacted for the flight, he confirmed he was already in Abuja, but the company was informed that there was another flight for which it demanded the manifest of passengers for the flight.

The Office of the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN, yesterday countered a letter signed by the CEO of Executive Jets Services Limited concerning the controversial flight it.

The office said in a letter: “For purposes of clarity and in order to set the records straight, the Minister of Works and Housing has not travelled out of Abuja since March 22, when he returned there after an inspection tour of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway construction work and a visit to Lagos, before the lockdown…

“It is, therefore, ridiculous for Dr. Iwuajoku to attempt to link the Minister with any non-compliant flight.