Many Nigerians have criticised the purchase of the presidential jet at a time when most are experiencing austerity measures.
The Presidency has responded to criticisms of the purchase of a new presidential jet by saying the jet will save Nigeria millions of dollars.
In a statement confirming a PREMIUM TIMES report that President Bola Tinubu would use the new jet to travel to France on Monday, spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said, "The new plane, bought far below the market price, saves Nigeria huge maintenance and fuel costs, running into millions of dollars yearly."
Many Nigerians have criticised the purchase of the presidential jet at a time when most are experiencing austerity measures caused by government policies.
Similarly, the move to purchase the jet came at a time when the government had been at loggerheads with Nigerian workers over a disagreement on a decent minimum wage figure that could complement the economic reality/soaring inflation.
Background
In June, PREMIUM TIMES reported exclusively that the Nigerian government was planning to purchase an Airbus A330 aircraft seized from an unnamed Arab prince and businessman who could not pay hundreds of millions of dollars he owed a German bank.
At the time, the Senate Committee Chairman on National Security and Intelligence, Shehu Buba, who spoke to this newspaper, explained that regardless of the economic hardship in the country, not quickly overhauling the country's presidential air fleet could endanger the president's and his deputy's lives.
"It is true that our country is facing economic difficulty, but that will not justify jeopardising or endangering the lives of our president, our vice president, other top government officials, and any citizen for that matter," Mr Buba said.
"We are all aware of the air mishaps in Iran and Malawi recently, which claimed the lives of the president and vice president of those countries, respectively. We commiserate with the people and governments of those countries. But we must also, as a people, do whatever is necessary to lower the possibility of such disasters in our country.
"No sacrifice is too much to pay for the safety of our leaders and citizens. We elected them. So, we have a collective responsibility to protect them at all times."
When asked why lawmakers demanded new aircraft for the nation's top leaders but were uninterested in calling on the government to pay workers better minimum wage, the Senator said, "The recommendations they (House Committee) made are related to those matters.
"The safety of our leaders and the health of the presidential air fleet are matters of national security concern. Raising those matters does not mean the committee members do not care about the issue of minimum wage, which is already being well handled by government and organised labour," he added.
But despite these concerns, sources confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that the new jet landed at the presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja, at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The aircraft was received by officials of Nigeria's Presidential Air Fleet, led by their commander, Olayinka Olusola, an air vice marshal.
The aircraft deal was brokered by L & L International LLC, an American aviation firm based in Miami, Florida, which saw Nigeria purchase the aircraft for over $100 million. A presidency official described the acquisition as an excellent deal for Nigeria, putting the aircraft's real market value in the region of $600 million.
The multi-engine prestige jet, which has an elaborate VIP configuration, is now Nigeria's Air Force One, with registration number 5N-NGA.
On Monday, Mr Tinubu launched the newly acquired presidential fleet after departing Abuja for a trip to Paris, France.
According to Mr Onanuga, the new plane is spacious and is furnished with the state-of-the-art avionics, customised interior and communications system.
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Read Mr Onanuga's full post on X below.
President Tinubu departed Abuja Monday for Paris, France using the new Airbus A330, which replaced the 19-year-old Boeing B737-700(BBJ) bought under the Presidency of President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The new plane, bought far below the market price, saves Nigeria huge maintenance and fuel costs, running into millions of dollars yearly.
The recommendation to replace the B737-700(BBJ) followed an investigative hearing by Nigeria's parliament that questioned the plane's safety record and cost efficiency, especially after it malfunctioned during a trip to Saudi Arabia.
The Nigerian Senate's security and intelligence committee recommended replacing the ageing aircraft in the presidential fleet to reduce downtime and operational expenses.
The new plane is spacious and is furnished with the state-of-the-art avionics, customised interior and communications system.
