The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has declared that the Upper Chamber will not stand idly by and allow President Bola Tinubu to meet the same fate as the presidents of Malawi and Iran, who lost their lives in aircraft crashes.

Akpabio made this vow during an emergency session of the Senate on Thursday, convened to consider an extension of the implementation period for the capital component of the N21.83 trillion 2023 budget and the N2.17 trillion 2023 supplementary budget.

The Senate President also clarified that the Senate had not received any request to approve the purchase of a new presidential jet.

However, he assured that when such a request is made, the Senate will give it due consideration.

The need for a new presidential jet has become pressing due to the poor state of the aircraft in the Presidential Air Fleet.

Recall that President Tinubu has been flying chartered aircraft on official assignments, including a recent trip to South Africa for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s inauguration.

Meanwhile, Vice President Kashim Shettima was forced to cancel a trip to the United States at the last minute due to issues with his official aircraft.