Tinubu Directs Sale Of Three Presidential Jets

President Bola Tinubu has directed three jets from the Presidential Air Fleet (PAF) to be sold to reduce the expense of running the government.

According to The Nation, the presidential fleet now consists of ten aircraft: six jets and four helicopters.

If the proposed action is carried out, the fleet will be reduced to seven.

According to the report, this is one of the cost-cutting initiatives used by President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Not less than N80 billion had been budgeted for the PAF as maintenance cost, from 2016 to 2023. In 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 N25.7billion, made up of N13billion in the budget and N12.7billion in the 2023 Supplementary Budget.

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Although the amount released from the budgetary line year after year could not be determined, the President was stated to be concerned about the escalating expense of maintenance and consequently commanded that the fleet be reduced. According to a source, the president was particularly concerned about the frequency of maintenance and the expense to the nation.

The source said: “The President is uncomfortable with the rising cost of maintaining the planes.

“Three planes have been pencilled down for disposal. The main reason is cutting down 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.”

The government of then-President Muhammadu Buhari also intended to sell two of the fleet’s planes, but they were never sold.

In October 2016, a Dassault Falcon 7x executive jet and a Beechcraft Hawker 4000 business jet were offered for sale. The favoured bidders, who had initially agreed to pay $24 million for the two planes, eventually dropped their offering to $11 million.

This was rejected by the previous government. Following that, an arrangement was made to put some of the aircraft on sale for willing governors in order to make the planes profitable, lowering the government’s maintenance costs.

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli