Emameh Gabriel in Abuja
Labour Party media arm, Obi-Datti Media Office, Friday condemned the grounding of its campaign aircraft by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), a situation it said almost disrupted its scheduled campaign rally in Ibadan.
In a statement by Diran Onifade,
Head of Media Obi-Datti Campaign Organisation, the party expressed surprise at the yet to explained grounding of its campaign aircraft, saying the action led to the inability of Labour Party and campaign officials, who had already gathered at Lagos and Abuja Airports, to attend the Ibadan rally.
Diran who earlier spoke with THISDAY about the development, said the development took the party by surprise but that couldn’t stop them from holding the rally as planned.
The statement reads: “The Obidient plane was grounded today by the powers that be “for regulatory reasons” only. Please ignore any mischievous rumour. Our massive rally in Ibadan is going on as planned.
“All we know is what the leasing vendor told us to the effect that “Federal authorities won’t allow the Obidient Aircraft to file a flight plan, because of ongoing regulatory investigations.”
“We are not privy to the specific details or nature of the investigations.
“Mischievous political operatives had cheaply seized the opportunity to spread the unfounded rumours of an air crash which was promptly dispelled. The Ibadan rally was however a huge success with the Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, making a stop at Iseyin Town before joining a multitude of organic supporters at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba, Ibadan.”
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