The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has questioned the funding and implementation of the Nigerian Air Force’s aircraft maintenance budget following Monday’s fatal ATR-42 crash at Igbokoda, Ondo State.
The opposition party, while mourning the victims, demanded an audit of defence maintenance spending, saying the crash should prompt scrutiny of how funds appropriated for the upkeep of military aircraft are released and utilised.
The Nigerian Air Force aircraft was on a routine mission from Benin to Lagos when it crashed near the naval base in Igbokoda. Authorities later confirmed that all 20 passengers and five crew members on board died.
President Bola Tinubu has ordered a thorough investigation into the cause of the crash.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC described the incident as “tragic and unfortunate”, while commiserating with the families of the victims.
The party said the crash had again highlighted what it described as the poor implementation of defence budgets, particularly funds earmarked for maintaining military equipment.
“While we do not intend to prejudice ongoing investigations into the cause of this tragic crash, we believe that this sad moment also provides an opportunity to raise, yet again, questions about the non-implementation of the defence budget and the perennial neglect of military equipment,” the ADC said.
Citing official budget figures, the party said only N4.5 billion, representing about 13.98 per cent of the N34.71 billion allocated for the maintenance of Nigerian Air Force aircraft, had been released by December 2025.
It contrasted this with the N20.74 billion budgeted for the maintenance of the Presidential Air Fleet, of which N20.27 billion, or 97.76 per cent, had reportedly been released.
Independent reporting based on Open Treasury records also puts NAF aircraft maintenance releases at N4.85 billion, or 13.98 per cent, of the N34.71 billion provision, while N20.27 billion was released for the Presidential Air Fleet from its N20.74 billion allocation.
The ADC consequently questioned why the Presidential Air Fleet received substantially higher maintenance funding than the Air Force fleet responsible for military operations.
“Put simply, while the fleet that serves a handful of people in power got almost every kobo it asked for, the fleet that serves and protects 200 million Nigerians was left with crumbs,” the party said.
It added: “The safety of the President matters. But what also matters is the safety of the pilots and airmen who put their lives on the line in defence of the country. Patriotism does not replace spare parts, and condolence messages do not take the place of accountability.”
The ADC called for the ongoing investigation into the crash to go beyond determining its immediate cause and examine the maintenance history of the aircraft and other defence equipment.
It specifically demanded an audit of maintenance expenditure and budgetary releases for the Nigerian Air Force fleet, saying such an exercise would help establish whether inadequate funding or poor implementation of approved allocations contributed to the condition of military aircraft.
The party’s demand comes as the government conducts its investigation into the crash, with the President declaring three days of national mourning for the deceased personnel.
