President Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday, departed Lagos for Pretoria to attend the inauguration of the South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa.
The Nigerian leader left the Presidential wing of the Muritala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, on a Dassault Falcon 8X aircraft around 11:06 am. This is the President’s personal private jet.
The President, Podium Reporters gathered, was forced to travel on his personal private jet, which is against the security protocol because almost all the planes on the presidential fleet are bad or in total state of disrepair.
The state of aircrafts in the presidential fleet has become a source of worry to many Nigerians since the reported technical fault that the main Presidential jet, Eagle One developed during the President’s trip to Saudi Arabia which forced the President to take a commercial plane.
Speaking on the state of the presidential jet, the Special Adviser to President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga pointed out that the current presidential jet was bought during the administration of former President Obasanjo around 20 years ago.
“The plane developed a problem the last time President Bola Tinubu travelled to Saudi Arabia. The President had to go from there to the UK on a commercial airline. Even those managing them said the aircraft needed to be replaced”, Bayo Onanuga stated.
The House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence had recently called on the FG to buy new aircraft for President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima.
The recommendation came a few months after three planes from the Presidential Air Fleet were pencilled down for sale.