TheCable

The Falcon Jet used in conveying Yahya Jammeh, former president of Gambia, out of his country after the political standoff in the West African nation belongs to Bola Tinubu, former governor of Lagos state.

According to NATION, the All Progressives Congress (APC) national leader released the aircraft on the condition that it would facilitate the “quick exit of Jammeh and lead to the restoration of peace and democracy in The Gambia”.

The newspaper reported that the jet was in Guinea when the team that eventually convinced Jammeh to step down left for Banjul, capital of Gambia, on Saturday.

But a Gambian social commentator identified as Lamin Jatta has faulted the report, saying the “Falcon 900 was a last-minute charter belonging to Clumber Consultancy in South Africa”.

Jatta said this in a tweet.

Presidents Alpha Conde of Guinea and Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz of Mauritania were able to talk Jammeh into ceding power after ECOWAS leaders met a brick wall in that regard.

Tinubu with Conde and top officials of Guinean government

Conde is an ally of Tinubu’s. So close are both men that the Nigerian politician relocated to Guinea when Conde was seeking reelection in 2015.

Back then, Sunday Dare, then spokesman of the APC stalwart, had said Tinubu moved into Conakry, capital of Guinea, with his team.

“The Tinubu election strategy and planning team comprising of six people quickly settled down to work with barely 60 days to the elections,” Dare had said in an article.

“Embedded within the Alpha Conde campaign organization, the Tinubu team worked on political messaging, speeches, social media interventions, election monitoring and countering the opponents and a day by day review of the campaign.”

Conde made headlines when he visited Nigeria at the twilight of the Goodluck Jonathan administration. Rather than head to the presidential villa in Abuja to pay a courtesy call on Jonathan, he first went to the Bourdillon, Lagos residence of Tinubu.

Jammeh is currently in exile in Equatorial Guinea.