Africa-Press – Liberia. The use of private jets by the President for international trips has always sparked criticism over its cost to taxpayers, particularly as the country’s economy continues to struggle. The former President was heavily criticized by the now-ruling Unity Party for this practice when it was an opposition party, but now, as a ruling party, the trend seems to be adopted.
From the onset of the regime, just a fortnight after the inauguration, Vice President Jeremiah Koung was captured boarding a private jet leaving Liberia. He came under fire for engaging in the acts that they criticized, for which former President George Weah was voted out in the November 2023 run-off election.
The Vice President, in his own defense, explained that the private jet was not chartered by him; rather, he was offered a ride by a Ghanaian businessman who was also en route from Monrovia to Accra. According to Vice President Koung, he was on his way to Nigeria to represent President Boakai at the Bayelsa State Governor’s Inauguration.
The flying of private jets was a major issue during the administration of former President George Weah, who reportedly spent huge sums of money on private jets during his presidency.
Upon his return from the Africa Business Summit in the United States on Tuesday, President Boakai told journalists that he flew commercial because Liberia does not have a plane of its own and he would continue to fly commercial unless someone decides to send a private jet for him.
However, on Wednesday morning, President Boakai was seen boarding a private jet with tail number CN-SYA bound for Guinea Bissau. The Minister of State for Presidential Affairs told reporters at the Roberts International Airport that the President was paying a one-day working visit to the President of Guinea Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, to discuss issues affecting the ECOWAS region.
In addition to his use of a private jet, there are also concerns about why President Boakai would be conferring with the President of Guinea Bissau on issues affecting ECOWAS when the Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, chairs the regional body.
FrontPageAfrica’s research on the plane established that the plane is registered as a private jet, but the owner’s information remains private. The flight information also revealed that the private jet arrived in Monrovia from Morocco on Tuesday at 11:47 PM, just about the same time President Boakai arrived from the United States. The plane remained at the airport and then took President Boakai to and from Guinea Bissau while making brief stops in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
The Presidential Press Secretary failed to respond to FrontPageAfrica’s request for comment on how the President acquired the private jet for his trip.
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