TheCable

Babatunde Fashola, the minister of works and housing, says he has not been outside Abuja since March 22, 2020.

Fashola made the comment on Tuesday in reaction to a statement by Sam Iwuajoku, the chairman of Executive Jets Services on Tuesday where the latter said he thought he approved a charter flight for the minister.

In a statement signed by Hakeem Bello, his special adviser on communications,

“For purposes of clarity and in order to set the records straight, the honourable minister of works and housing, Babatunde Fashola SAN, has not travelled out of Abuja since March 22, 2020, when he returned there after an inspection tour of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway construction work and a visit to Lagos, before the lockdown,” the statement read.

“The decision of the honourable minister not to travel was taken in strict compliance with the federal government’s ban on inter-state travels as part of efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is therefore ridiculous for Iwuajoku to attempt to link the honourable minister with any non-compliant flight.”

At the presidential task force on COVID-19 briefing on Monday, Hadi Sirika, the minister of aviation, had announced that Executive Jets had been suspended indefinitely from operating in the country.

The charter company contravened COVID-19 protocols by flying Naira Marley to a concert in Abuja on June 13 and returned him to Lagos on the same day.

In its defence, the company said it thought the charter application was for the minister because it saw his name on the application.