Success Ossai, the Special Adviser to the Delta State Governor on Media, explained the reason he offered a ₦500,000 monthly salary job to Comfort Emmason.
TheNewsGuru.com(TNG) recalls that Emmason was on August 10th, removed from a flight from Lagos to Uyo after allegedly refusing to turn off her phone as instructed by crew members.
The situation escalated when she became physically aggressive, struck a flight attendant, and had to be restrained and escorted off the aircraft at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport.
Following that, Ibom Air imposed a lifetime ban on her, while she was also arraigned and remanded in the Kirikiri Correctional Centre.
However, she was later released after the intervention of the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo (SAN).
Following her release, Ossai, in an Instagram post on Wednesday, announced that a monthly salary of ₦500,000 had been secured for the female passenger in the state.
The package, according to Ossai, also includes flight tickets, accommodation in a five-star hotel, a guided tour, and a ticket to the Delta Social Media Summit scheduled for August 28 in Asaba.
Speaking in an interview with The PUNCH, Ossai clarified that the gesture was not from the state government but a personal decision to help Emmason reintegrate into society.
Dismissing speculations of having a romantic interest in Comfort, the governor’s aide said, “I’m a married man and a faithful man. I can never get myself involved with such a thing. I am just offering harmless assistance to her.
“The gesture shown to the passenger wasn’t from the state government. It’s my personal gesture. She has shown remorse for what she did. Whatever has happened has happened. She went to Kirikiri prison and came back. It is time to support her as well.”
He also dismissed criticisms that his offer could encourage unruly behaviour among air passengers.
On why he extended the offer despite Emmason not being from Delta State, Ossai said, “In Delta State, we don’t discriminate. We offer help to people, whether you are from Delta State or not. We are first Nigerians before anything else.”