The Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led government is set to sell three jets in the Presidential Air Fleet (PAF).
It was gathered that the proposed sale of the presidential jet is part of the cost-saving measures being adopted by the Tinubu administration.
The fleet currently has 10 aircraft, which include six jets and four helicopters, which would be reduced to seven if the planned action is successful.
The planes in the Presidential Fleet are Boeing Business Jets (BBJ) 737, Gulfstream G550, Gulfstream G500, two Falcon 7X, HS 4000, two Agusta 139, and two Agusta 101.
The BBJ 737 is the Nigerian Air Force One, which is used exclusively by the President and is designed to serve as an office and a residential quarter on air to enable the president to function effectively during his trip.
The President also uses one of the helicopters for shuttles during his trips around the country.
In October 2016, a Dassault Falcon 7x executive jet and a Beechcraft Hawker 4000 business jet were put up for sale, but the proposed sale fell through.
The preferred bidders, who initially agreed to pay $24 million for the two aircraft, later reduced their offer to $11 million, which the Muhammadu Buhari government rejected.
Not less than N80 billion has been budgeted for the PAF as maintenance cost, as follows: 2016 (N3.65 billion), 2017 (N4.37 billion), 2018 (N7.26 billion), 2019 (N7.30 billion), 2020 (N6.79 billion), 2021 (N12.55 billion), 2022 (N12.48 billion), and in 2023, about N25.7 billion, made up of N13 billion in the budget and N12.7 billion in the 2023 Supplementary budget.
Tinubu UnHappy With Maintenance Cost
In a chat with The Nation, a presidential source said President Tinubu is uncomfortable with the rising cost of maintenance, hence his directive to reduce the fleet.
He said: “The President is uncomfortable with the rising cost of maintaining the planes.
“Three planes have been pencilled in for disposal. The main reason is to reduce high maintenance costs.
“I think officers in PAF were particularly concerned about the frequency of maintenance and how much it costs the nation.
“The President decided to let off the aircraft that constitute the most burdensome.”
Speaking further, the source explained why top government officials use some of the planes
He said, “It takes a lot of time to connect some African countries by air. In such a situation, the Presidential Air Fleet is handy.
“The use of the fleet is domiciled in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) for effective management.”
According to The Nation, an investigation confirmed that the presidency might have incurred over $5 million as maintenance fees in the past few months.
It was unclear the actual figure of outstanding commitments on the fleet which have not been settled.