The governor of Rivers State, Mr. Nyesom Wike has said that he uncovered the state owned Legacy 600 aircraft alleged to have been abandoned in Germany by his predecessor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi.
Wike revealed this when he led a delegation of Rivers leaders to General Atomics Aerotec in Munich, Germany, where the aircraft, according to him had been abandoned for 10 years.
The governor said in a statement by his media aide, Mr. Kelvin Ebiri that the aircraft had been in that European country since 2012.
He said the aircraft was discovered through intelligence gathering adding that efforts to repair and retrieve the aircraft would cost the state government €3 million.
Speaking with the general manager, business development, General Atomics Aerotec, Mr. Markus Froetschi, the governor was quoted to have said: “When we came into office in 2015, we never had an idea that our plane was in your facility.
“It was a matter of asking questions before we got the information that Legacy 600 belonging to our State is in RUAG, before General Atomics. We tried to make contact with you, which you obliged.
“So, we want to sincerely thank you for not hiding anything from us, because it is the property of the State government.
“This plane was bought in 2003 by the government of Dr Peter Odili, and by 2007 he had handed over to the next government which was my predecessor’s, now, minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi. While he was in office, by 2012 this plane was brought here for reasons we do not know,” he said.
The governor further said there does not exist any document indicating that the state-owned aircraft was flown to Germany and abandoned for inexplicable reasons.
“The issue is why was there no documentation to let the incoming government to know that we have this facility and we sent it to RUAG for inspection.
“Again, I do know from experience that inspection of such facility does not take more than six months. So, if it was brought in 2012, expectantly at least, by early 2013, the plane ought to have come back for use,” he added.
He said he and his delegation had to take the trip to prove that the Legacy 600 aircraft had been discovered and about to be returned to the State government.
The general manager, business development, General Atomics Aerotec, Markus Froetschi, said the aircraft was brought to Germany by the immediate past administration and abandoned since 2012.
He expressed delight that the governor took the initiative to repair and return the aircraft to Nigeria for use by the state government.
He said the company will be done with general maintenance work and deliver the aircraft to the state government by March.
According to Ebiri, the governor was accompanied on the visit by the speaker rivers state house of assembly, Mr. Ikuinyi-Owaji Ibani; deputy speaker, Mr. Ehie Ogerenye Edison; state attorney general and commissioner for justice, Prof. Zacchaeus Adangor; member of the house of representatives, Mr. Ken Chikere; state chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Desmond Akawor and chairman, Ikwerre local government area, Mr. Samuel Nwanosike, among others.
