Nigeria’s newly acquired presidential aircraft, an Airbus A330-200 with registration number 5N-FGA, was manufactured 15 years ago, in November 2009, a report has revealed.
According to the report, Nigeria is the third aircraft owner, initially operated by Saudi Arabia’s Midroc Aviation and later by Switzerland-based AMAC Aerospace.
Recall that the federal government of Nigeria took delivery of the aircraft on Sunday, August 18, 2024, from its production site in Toulouse, France, after earlier denials of buying the aircraft.
The aircraft, registered initially as VP-CAC with a VIP configuration, was operated by Midroc Aviation for 12 years before being sold to AMAC Aerospace in 2021.
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The aircraft has undergone upgrades to its current status and was acquired by Nigeria at a reported cost of $100 million, with an additional $50 million spent on retrofitting it with state-of-the-art gadgets.
Despite the government’s silence on the exact cost, a brand-new A330-200 aircraft typically costs $238.5 million.
The buying of the new presidential jet has been met with criticism, coupled with the earlier seizure by a Chinese company.
(West Africa Weekly)
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