Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, has claimed that the Federal Government, contrary to popular opinion, did not acquire a new official jet for President Bola Tinubu.
Speaking on Sunday’s edition of Inside Sources on Channels Television, Onanuga stated that the government acquired a refurbished jet for the president, adding that the plane belongs to the country.
“It’s not President Tinubu’s plane, it belongs to the people of Nigeria, it is our property,” Onanuga said
He said some jets in the presidential fleet, such as the 19-year-old Boeing B737-700 purchased under ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, are all in bad condition, adding that their maintenance costs were outrageous.
He added that instead of spending a lot of money on aircraft maintenance, the President sought the approval of the National Assembly for a refurbished jet that was still in good condition.
Onanuga said the refurbished Airbus A330 would save Nigeria high maintenance costs in servicing the old aircraft.
He said, “The president did not buy a new jet; what he has is a refurbished jet – it has been used by somebody else before he got it, but it is a much newer model than the one President Buhari used. The one President Buhari used was bought by President Obasanjo some 20 years ago.
“There was a time when the President went to Saudi Arabia, and that plane developed some problems. The President had to leave with a chartered jet to the Netherlands. It’s not President Tinubu’s plane. It belongs to the people of Nigeria. It is our property.”
The presidential spokesman said he spoke with the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, on the faulty plane and he said the maintenance costs because of the age of the plane were exorbitant hence the need for another plane.
“People should try to prioritise the safety of the president. I’m not sure anybody wishes our president to go and crash in the air. We want his safety so that he can hand over to whoever wants to take over from him,” Onanuga said.
While the Presidency has continued to defend Tinubu’s action to purchase the refurbished Airbus A330, the move has been criticised by many Nigerians and some of his contenders in the 2023 election, who felt the President was unfeeling to the plight of poor Nigerians grappling under the weight of unprecedented food inflation, and energy prices which have quadrupled in the last one year.
The health state of the Presidential Air Fleet has been a source of concern of late. In May, a faulty presidential jet stopped Vice President Kashim Shettima from attending the 2024 US-Africa Business Summit hosted by the Corporate Council on Africa.
Last December, a presidential aircraft, Falcon 900B, was put up for sale, with the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) asking interested persons to submit their bids for the purchase of the aircraft.
