The Comptroller General of Customs, Hamid Ali, a well known ally of President Muhammadu Buhari, was spotted on Tuesday flying first class on British Airways flight from London to Abuja, in clear violation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive banning public officials from flying first class.
The
BA flight BA83 which took off from Gate 43 of Heathrow Terminal 5, London, on
Tuesday, nearly an hour behind its scheduled 10.43pm departure time, arrived
the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Wednesday morning at about
5a.m, with Mr. Ali on board.
The
reasons for Mr. Ali’s travel to London remained unknown as at the time of
publishing this report, but customs insiders said the trip was official.
Several
passengers on the flight told Premium Times they saw Mr. Ali seated in the
First Class compartment of the aircraft during the flight.
“It
was a major talking point among some passengers whether the policy (barring
public officials from flying first class) is being implemented with exceptions
or whether it is meant for the shelves,” one passenger on the flight told this
newspaper.
There
were notable Nigerians on board and a number of them confirmed to this
newspaper that the customs comptroller-general was in the first class cabin of
the aircraft during the flight.
A
first class ticket to and from London costs $11,423.23 (about N3.4million).
Besides
being a close friend of Mr. Buhari, Mr. Ali, a retired army colonel, is a man
seen by many Nigerian as frugal and incorruptible.
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