Tinubu bought refurbuished plane, FG explains most aircraft in presidential fleet old

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The Presidency said refurbished planes were bought for the Presidential fleet, explaining most aircraft in presidential fleet old.

Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, clarified that contrary to popular opinion, President Bola Tinubu did not acquire a new official jet but a refurbished one.

Onanuga, who spoke on Sunday, on Channelstv programme, Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-economic programme, said: “It’s not President Tinubu’s plane, it belongs to the people of Nigeria, it is our property.”

According to him, some jets in the presidential fleet like a 19-year-old Boeing B737-700 were purchased under ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo and are all in bad condition.

Consequently, he said the maintenance costs of the planed were outrageous, adding that instead of spending a bogus amount of money on aircraft maintenance, the President sought the approval of the National Assembly for a refurbished jet still in good condition.

Onanuga reasomed that the refurbished Airbus A330 would save Nigeria high maintenance costs in servicing the old aircraft, urging Nigerians to prioritise the President’s safety.

Onaniga, who stressed that the newly acquired plane is Nigeria’s property, not Tinubu’s, said Tinubu won’t take the just-acquired jet with him when he leaves office.

“The president did not buy a new jet; what he has is a refurbished jet – it has been used by somebody else before he got it but it is a much newer model than the one President Buhari used.

“The one President Buhari used was bought by President Obasanjo some 20 years ago.

“There was a time the President went to Saudi Arabia, that plane developed some problems and the President had to leave with a chartered jet to The Netherlands,” he said.

The presidential spokesman said he spoke with the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, on the faulty plane and he said the maintenance costs because of the age of the plane were exorbitant hence the need for another plane.

“People should try to prioritise the safety of the president. I’m not sure anybody wishes our president to go and crash in the air. We want his safety so that he can hand over to whoever wants to take over from him,” Onanuga said.

While the Presidency has continued to defend Tinubu’s action to purchase the refurbished Airbus A330, the move has been criticised by many Nigerians and some of his contenders in the 2023 election, who felt the President was unfeeling to the plight of poor Nigerians grappling under the weight of unprecedented food inflation, and energy prices which have quadrupled in the last one year.

The health state of the Presidential Air Fleet has been a source of concern of late. In May, a faulty presidential jet stopped Vice President Kashim Shettima from attending the 2024 US-Africa Business Summit hosted by the Corporate Council on Africa.