Drama Unfolds: Govt Aide Cites Marriage As Reason For ₦500k Job Offer To Comfort

The Special Adviser on Media to the Delta State Governor, Success Ossai, has clarified why he offered Comfort Emmason a job worth ₦500,000 monthly salary along with other benefits.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Emmason came into the spotlight on August 10 after she was removed from a Lagos–Uyo flight for allegedly refusing to switch off her mobile phone as instructed by the cabin crew. The incident escalated when she reportedly became violent, struck a flight attendant, and had to be restrained before being taken off the aircraft at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport.

Following the disruption, Ibom Air imposed a lifetime ban on her, and she was subsequently arraigned and remanded at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre. She later regained her freedom after the intervention of the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo (SAN).

Shortly after her release, Ossai announced on Instagram that he had secured a ₦500,000 per month employment package for her. The offer also included free flight tickets, five-star hotel accommodation, a guided tour, and a pass to the Delta Social Media Summit slated for August 28 in Asaba.

In an interview with The PUNCH, Ossai stressed that the gesture was not from the Delta State Government but a personal initiative to help Emmason reintegrate into society.

Dispelling insinuations that he had a romantic interest in her, he said:

“I’m a married and faithful man. I can never get myself involved in such a thing. This is simply harmless assistance.”

Ossai added that Emmason had shown remorse and deserved support rather than continued condemnation:

“She went to Kirikiri, she came back. It’s time to help her move forward.”

He further dismissed criticisms that the offer could encourage unruly passenger behaviour, noting that his decision was based on compassion and fairness:

“In Delta State, we don’t discriminate. Whether or not she’s from Delta, we are Nigerians first before anything else.”

Meanwhile, public interest lawyer Ayodele Ademiluyi has filed a ₦500 billion lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Lagos against the Federal Government, the NCAA, Ibom Air, ValueJet, the Nigerian Correctional Service, musician King Wasiu Ayinde (KWAM 1), and several other parties.

Ademiluyi argued that the handling of aviation incidents involving Emmason and KWAM 1 revealed a double standard and a disregard for the rule of law. He noted that while Emmason was prosecuted and imprisoned, KWAM 1, who once disrupted a flight, faced no legal consequences and was instead rewarded with an ambassadorial role in the aviation sector.

“What message does that send? If someone can stop a plane with bare hands and be rewarded with a brand ambassadorship, it undermines the rule of law,” Ademiluyi said.

The lawyer insisted that the suit was a public interest action aimed at exposing systemic weaknesses and ensuring accountability within Nigeria’s aviation sector.