Three out of the six airplanes in Nigeria’s Presidential Fleet has been put up for sale by the federal government. The expected sale of these three ageing presidential jets according a government official meant to rid the presidential fleet of those aircrafts who are becoming increasingly unserviceable.
The move will also drastically reduce the amount of money the federal government spends on fleet maintenance.
The reported move to sell off half of the airplanes in the presidential fleet is coming amidst the recent recommendation of the House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence for the government to purchase two aircrafts for use by the President and the Vice President.
The Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence, also supported the recommendation by their counterparts in the lower chamber.
The presidential fleet is currently made up of ten (10) aircrafts and comprise of six airplanes and four helicopters. The airplanes include Boeing 737 Boeing Business Jet (BBJ), a Gulfstream G550, a Gulfstream GV, two Falcon 7x and one Challenger CL605.
The fleet is maintained by the presidential air fleet (PAF), which is an arm of the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA).
The jets reportedly put up for sale by the federal government include the president’s aircraft, Boeing 737 Boeing Business Jet (BBJ), one of the Gulfstream airplanes and one of the Falcon 7x.
The federal government it is learnt has already appointed a US-based airline marketer, JetHQ, as the broker for the sale of the aircrafts with an exclusive marketing agreement in place between the federal government and US company. The company has reportedly submitted two bids for the President’s main aircraft (BBJ) and the Falcon X.
The proceeds from the sale would go into procuring a new jet for the fleet. It is however unlikely that the federal government would purchase two new jets at once to replace those about to be sold.
It was however gathered that despite the recommendation by the national assembly committees on national security and intelligence for purchase of two aircraft, approval has been secured for now to purchase one according to a Senior official in the Presidential Air Fleet.