Kukah can’t prove Buhari promised to sell off presidential fleet – Femi Adesina

President Muhammadu Buhari’s special adviser on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, asserted that Matthew Hassan-Kukah, the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, is unable to demonstrate that the President committed to sell off the presidential fleet during his 2015 reelection campaign.

This was said by Adesina during a Monday interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

The presidential spokesperson claimed there was no evidence the President had made such a commitment prior to being elected.

He said, “He (Kukah) talked about selling the presidential fleet. Was that ever promised? You know that in 2015, there were a rash of promises made that even the candidates did not know about. So, how can he start claiming that he promised that?”

Adesina stated that Buhari has done his utmost to secure the nation and fight corruption, adding that Nigeria is not where it was in 2015 when the President took office.

“Are we where we were on the issue of banditry in 2015? The job is not fully done but are we where we were? If Fr Kukah is true to himself and true to his calling, he will know that this country is not where it was in 2015,” he said.

“Selling off our presidential fleet, let him (Kukah) prove that the President made that promise.

When Buhari ran for office in 2015, according to Adesina, he pledged to examine the fleet and not sell it off.

He continued by saying that two to three of the presidential fleet’s jets had been sold and that two to three of the helicopters had been transferred to the Nigerian Air Force.

“President Buhari promised to look at the presidential fleet which he did. Helicopters were given to the Air Force, two or three jets were sold off.

“That is cutting off excesses. What some people expect is selling off all the jets and start flying the Nigerian Airways if Nigerian Airways still exists,” he said.

The presidential spokesman claimed that throughout Buhari’s eight-year presidency, security had improved.

Keep in mind that Kukah had criticized Buhari in his 2023 Easter Message, saying, “As you prepare to return to Daura or Kaduna, I do not know if you feel fulfilled or that you met the tall dreams and goals you set for yourself such as: ending banditry, defeating corruption, bringing back our girls, belonging to everybody and belonging to nobody, selling off our presidential fleet and traveling with us, etc.”

However, in response to Kukah’s assertions, Adesina argued that the cleric was very partisan and that his views were biased toward politics.