Why Buhari Ordered Sale Of Two Presidential Aircraft

In fulfillment of one of his campaign promises to cut cost, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the disposal of two of the aircraft operated by the Presidential Air Fleet (PAF) of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).

The presidency, through the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), advertised the sale of two aircraft in THISDAY newspaper yesterday.

According to the advert, the two aircraft to be disposed off comprise a Falcon 7X executive jet and Hawker 4000. The airplanes, however, are just two of well over a dozen aircraft believed to be in the PAF.

ONSA, in the advert, said all bids should be quoted in US dollars and invited interested buyers are to inspect the Falcon at the presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International, Airport, Abuja, while the Hawker aircraft is to be inspected at the Cessna Zurich Citation Service Centre in Zurich, Switzerland.

Interested buyers were given four weeks from yesterday to submit their bids for the two aircraft.

The Falcon 7X has a registration number, 5N-FGU and serial number 090. It has a passenger capacity for 16 persons and three crew members.

Its highlights include: Entry of service (2011); one owner; time of service: 2,776:47 hours; cycles since purchase: 2363; engine completed HSI in May 2016; engine time to overhaul is 4,529hrs: and ready for sale immediately.

The Hawker 4000 aircraft has a registration number 5N-FGX and serial number RC 066. It has a passenger capacity of nine persons, three crew, and highlights of service entry was in 2012; 1,178:15hrs since time of service; 1,146hours cycles; engine time overhaul is 4,821hours; and is ready for sale immediately.

In a statement yesterday by the president’s media aide, Mallam Garba Shehu, the presidency confirmed that the newspaper advertisement in THISDAY for the sale of two presidential aircraft was duly authorised by Buhari.

According to him, the decision was in line with the directive by Buhari that aircraft in the presidential air fleet be reduced to cut waste.

Shehu further said that when Buhari campaigned as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate before the 2015 presidential election, he promised to look into the presidential air fleet with a view to cutting down on waste.

He explained that Buhari’s directive to a government committee given this assignment was that he would like to see a compact and reliable aircraft fleet for the safe airlift of the president, vice-president and other government officials on special missions.

While disclosing that the exercise was by no means complete, Shehu added that some other aircraft in the presidential fleet would be handed over to the Nigerian Air Force to boost its operations.

THISDAY had exclusively reported last year of plans by the presidency to sell some of the aircraft in the presidential air fleet as part of the government’s cost cutting measures.

However, after pressure was brought to bear, the presidency denied the story and deferred plans to sell some of the aircraft.

Insider sources had informed us that the presidency has a number of serviceable and unserviceable aircraft that needed to be disposed off in order to reduce the amount spent by the federal government on aircraft maintenance annually.

Although information on the exact size of the fleet is treated as classified information, the fleet, according to aviation sources, is believed to comprise 11 to 16 aircraft, chief of which is the Boeing 738 BBJ, NAF 001 or Eagle One, used by the president for his travels.

With its luxury configuration comprising a master bedroom, washrooms and showers, a conference and dinning area, and a living area, the plane seats 25 to 50 passengers and would cost at least $100 million to replace today.

We gathered that about eight of the planes are reserved strictly for the president. Others are reserved for executive airlift.

The aircraft reserved for executive airlift are used by the Vice-President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and could be used to convey African heads of states visiting or departing Nigeria.

(Thisday )