Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has announced the discovery of a State owned LEGACY 600 aircraft, which was allegedly flown to and abandoned in Munich, Germany by his predecessors since 2012. 

Governor Wike said it was quite unconscionable and criminal for the immediate past administration to have flown a state owned asset to Germany and abandon same there, without documentation. Governor Wike, who led a delegation to General Atomics Aerotec in Munich, Germany, where the aircraft had been abandoned for ten years, said efforts are in top gear to retrieve the aircraft. He also said the Government has so far committed over Three Million Euros to repair the aircraft in order to make it airworthy for retrieval. 

Governor Wike stated that the discovery was the product of his administration's intelligence gathering towards recovering all state assets. He said the Legacy 600 jet was originally purchased by the Dr Peter Odili’s administration in 2003.

He 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. Reasons we do not know.”

The Governor said there exists no document in the Governor's office indicating that the State owned aircraft was flown to Germany and abandoned for whatever reasons.

He continued; “The issue is, why was there no documentation to let the incoming Government know 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.”

Governor Wike, said he travelled to Munich, Germany with a State delegation to perfect all modalities necessary for the aircraft to be flown back to Nigeria. The delegation includes: Speaker, Rivers State House of Assembly, Ikuinyi-Owaji Ibani; Deputy Speaker, Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Ehie Ogerenye Edison; Rivers State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Zacchaeus Adangor; Member of House of Representatives, Hon. Ken Chikere; Rivers State chairman, Peoples Democratic Party, Ambassador Desmond Akawor; Chairman, Ikwerre Local Government Area, Hon. Samuel Nwanosike, and some others.

The General Manager, Business Development, General Atomics Aerotec, Markus Froetschi, said the aircraft was brought to Germany by the immediate past administration in Rivers State and abandoned since 2012. He expressed delight that Governor Wike took the initiative to repair and return the aircraft to Nigeria for use by the State government. He said his company will be done with general maintenance work and deliver the aircraft to Rivers State by March.

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