Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko
Ondo State Government on Tuesday said it was not
involved in the hiring of Associated Airline plane, which
crashed in Lagos last Thursday while conveying the body
of the late former Governor Olusegun Agagu to Akure.
The state also said that the airline was not on the list of
airlines earlier listed and presented to the burial
committee set up by the government to organise a
befitting burial for the deceased.
These clarifications were contained in a statement by the
Ondo State Commissioner for Information, Kayode
Akinmade.
A spokesman for the Agagu family, Femi Agagu, had
reportedly said in a statement on Monday that the family
did not hire the crashed plane.
Akinmade said the clarification became necessary in
order to correct erroneous representations in media
reports.
The statement read in part, “The Ondo state
Government has clarified that it did not hire the aircraft
of Associated Airline, which crash-landed last Thursday
in Lagos, while conveying the body of former Governor of
the state, Dr. Olusegun Agagu, to Akure for the
commencement of the burial rites.
“Its determination to give the former governor a befitting
state burial made it set up a burial committee, which
met regularly with the family of the deceased to arrive at
a burial programme agreeable to the family. At one of
the meetings, the issue of the transportation of the body
from Lagos to Akure was discussed.
“The committee deferred to the family’s insistence that
the body be moved to Akure by air. The family thereafter
introduced Mr. Tunji Okusanya (now deceased) of MIC
Funeral as the official undertaker, who would make
necessary arrangements regarding the movement of the
body and the funeral.
“Thereafter, the MIC boss forwarded the names of
various airlines through an e-mail message to the
Committee, namely, Aero Contractor; OAS Helicopters;
Chachangi; Arik; Dana; and IRS as the airline operators
that have been contacted.”
He said the MIC boss indicated in his message that IRS
was not available for transportation of human remains
and that Dana aircraft had gone for maintenance while
Arik does not fly the Akure route, suggesting that
Chachangi was the best offer.
“It was neither the wish nor the prerogative of
government to indicate any preference for a particular
airline,” Akinmade said, stressing that the interface with
MIC, at the instance of the family, was necessary for
facilitation of payment.
“At no time was Associated Airline mentioned,” the
commissioner stressed.
“This is definitely not the time for this as we are still
mourning. It is pathetic losing any soul in the course of
paying homage to our former Governor, particularly
government officials and other bread winners of their
families, including the Managing Director of MIC, his son,
and other workers of his company,” he added.
Akinmade’s statement indicated that the state
government thanked the Federal Government for
ordering a thorough investigation into the crash in order
to prevent the occurrence of such tragedy in the future,
imploring the team of investigators to leave no stone
unturned in the course of their investigation.


Source: www.punchng.com/news/ondo-govt-denies-hiring-crashed-associated-airline-plane/