The federal government is set to sell three ageing presidential aircraft to gather funds for the purchase of a new jet, aiming to reduce excessive spending on fleet maintenance.
This decision comes after the House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence recommended acquiring two new aircraft for President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Despite the recommendation, government officials stated that the budget only allows for the purchase of one new aircraft, with the proceeds from the sale of the three jets expected to augment the cost. The sale will reduce the presidential air fleet by half, from six planes and four helicopters to three.
The aircraft up for sale include a Boeing 737 Boeing Business Jet (BBJ), a Gulfstream, and a Falcon 7x.
Insiders revealed that at least half of the fleet is currently unserviceable, necessitating the disposal of these burdensome aircraft.
“We saw the report and recommendation by the lawmakers. But the truth of the matter is that we can not afford to buy two aircraft at a go, even though we are selling off others. The approval now is to find one whose cost is not too much that we can augment with what we raise from this sale,” a government insider stated.
JetHQ, a US-based airline marketer, has been appointed to broker the sale. Offers have been received for the BBJ and Falcon 7x, but the National Security Adviser (NSA) has instructed officials to seek better deals.
“Yes, we have received two offers for the BBJ and one for the Falcon X. But the NSA insisted that we must press for a better deal instead of rushing to have a bad deal for the government,” a Presidential Air Force (PAF) official involved with the process stressed.
This was also confirmed by Zakari Mijinyawa, a spokesman for the National Security Adviser (NSA).
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