The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has faulted plans by the Federal Government to buy new jets for President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Obi, in a Monday post on X (formerly Twitter), urged the current government to focus on alleviating the suffering of the people and not splurging scarce resources on the acquisition of new presidential jets.
Last week, the House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence asked the Federal Government to purchase new aircraft for Tinubu and Shettima.
The committee’s recommendation followed its investigation into the status of the aircraft in the presidential air fleet.
The move followed reports of faulty aircraft in the presidential air fleet, forcing the President to use a chartered plane from the Netherlands to Saudi Arabia during his recent trips abroad.
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However, Obi said at a time when the “country is trending on the global media for facing its worst economic crisis, marked by high inflation, a falling currency, and widespread poverty, the government’s plan to buy new presidential jets demonstrates extreme insensitivity to citizens’ struggles”.
Obi said, “With rising insecurity, poverty, hunger, and homelessness, this decision highlights the disconnect between the government and the people. It is unacceptable and demands a more compassionate use of resources, prioritizing citizens’ welfare.
“It’s on record that our presidential jets have an average age of 12 years, purchased when most Nigerians could afford basic necessities. Now, as our country faces significant challenges, including a high debt profile, our citizens are in even greater need.
“Instead of adding to our luxuries, we should be focused on alleviating their suffering and finding solutions to their problems. For long, our bad leadership has made our priorities, as leaders, to be at variance to the needs of society, which is why we are headed now south, as a nation.
“To elucidate further, despite dropping down to the fourth-largest economy in Africa, with a GDP of $252 billion and a per capita income of $1,080, with huge debt burdens and borrowing to service debts, yet, we are spending $15 million for our Vice President’s residence, while the USA, the world’s largest economy with a GDP of $25 trillion, about 100 times our GDP, and a per capita income of $80,000, about 80 times ours, still houses their Vice President in Number 1 Observatory Circle, a house built over 100 years ago, and whose value is obviously less than the $15 million we are spending on our VP’s residence.
A reputable real estate company, actually, reports that the US Vice President’s Official Residence is valued at about $7.5 million today.
“While we had earlier refurbished the old VP residence with $2 million, the over 100 years old US Vice President’s house has only undergone widescale renovations twice, funded by tax payers money; in 1993 and in 2021.
“Every new US VP is free to finance any minor refurbishing from his personal funds. It’s, therefore, time to stop this impunity, insensitivity, and shamelessness and refocus on the needs of our people. We must prioritize education, healthcare, and lifting our citizens out of poverty.
“Let us work together to build a nation that truly serves its people, not just the interests of a few. Let’s rise to the challenge, and build this new Nigeria which is now more possible than ever before.”
The health state of the Presidential Air Fleet has been 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.
Last December, a presidential aircraft, Falcon 900B, was put up for sale, with the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) asking interested persons to submit their bids for the purchase of the aircraft.
House of Reps gives nod for the aircraft
Meanwhile, the Committee on National Security and Intelligence in the House of Representatives has given the Presidency a nod to buy aircraft for the President and the Vice President.
A report by the Premium Times revealed that the committee made the proposition in a report issued after its technical subcommittee conducted a hearing on the status and airworthiness of aircraft in the Presidential Air Fleet (PAF).
The report was signed by the committee’s chairperson, Ahmed Satomi (APC, Borno), and the clerk, Makwe Eric.
Some lawmakers say the document has since been forwarded to the presidency for action.
“The Committee is of the strong and informed opinion that considering the fragile structure of the Nigerian federation and recognising the dire consequences of any foreseen or unforeseen mishap that may arise as a result of technical/operational inadequacy of the Presidential Air Fleet, it is in the best interest of the country to procure two additional aircraft as recommended,” the report, exclusively seen by Premium Times, read in part.
But Daily Trust reports that indications of the plan to buy new aircraft for the president and vice president came to the fore as early as February this year.
One of the reports by this newspaper published on February 20, 2024, quoted some credible sources as saying that the federal government was tired of spending humongous amount of money in maintaining the aircraft in the fleet.
A senior official familiar with the maintenance of the presidential fleet said that between the routine maintenance and purchase of parts, the aircraft had been guzzling huge amounts of money.
The source said it was not a new trend as it had been going on for a while, making the erstwhile Presidential Air Fleet Commander, AVM A. A. Yaro to recommend that the aircraft should be demobilised.
But other sources told our reporter that those around President Tinubu were not unmindful of the backlash any move to buy new aircraft for the presidential fleet would cause, considering the economic downturn in the country, as millions of citizens battle every day to feed owing to impacts of some of the reforms of the current administration.
The Air Force 001, being used by President Tinubu, is a 737 Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) bought during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo at the cost of $43 million.
Boeing began the production of the BBJ in 1998, and it initially cost $36 million for the unfinished aircraft. It now sells for about $41 million for a used one and $71 million for a brand new aircraft.
About a month to the expiration of the tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari, the aircraft was sent for a comprehensive maintenance ahead of the inauguration of the Tinubu government.
Sources privy to the operation of the presidential fleet confirmed to Daily Trust that the aircraft had amassed over $5 million in maintenance bills, constituting nearly half of the over $10 million liabilities inherited at the presidential fleet.
The Reps committee’s justification
While justifying their call for new aircraft for Tinubu and Shettima, members of the House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence said their recommendation was based on available facts.
“This will also prove to be most cost-efficient in the long run apart from the added advantage of providing a suitable, comfortable and safe carrier befitting of the status and responsibilities of the office of the president and vice president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the committee said.
According to the report, the presidential fleet has six aircraft: one Boeing 737, a Gulfstream G550, a Gulfstream GV, two Falcon 7Xs, and a Challenger CL605. The committee said three of the aircraft were unserviceable as of the time it conducted its hearing.
In addition, the fleet has six helicopters: two Agusta 139s and four Agusta 189s. The committee, quoting the current Commander of the Presidential Air Fleet, Olayinka Oyesola, an Air Vice Marshal, said the two Agusta 139s are currently unserviceable.
The committee states that the president’s 19-year-old Boeing 737 is unserviceable and currently undergoing annual maintenance. Conversely, the vice president’s 13-year-old Gulfstream G550 is in good condition.
Also, the Gulfstream GV is 23 years old and currently unserviceable. One of the Falcon 7Xs is serviceable, while the other is not.
The Challenger CL605 is 12 years old and serviceable. The Agusta 139 helicopters, classified as unserviceable, are 17 and 18 years old, respectively.
In its recommendations, the committee said the cost of maintaining aged aircraft is high, leading to longer aircraft downtime and higher fleet running costs. The panel said buying new aircraft for the country’s top leaders is the best option.
Former President Buhari had promised to significantly reduce the number of planes in the fleet by selling off some of the aircraft. However, that did not happen. Instead, the government increased the cost of running the fleet by 190 per cent between 2016 and 2020, a report by Daily Trust in 2020 showed.
By 2022, the government stated that it was spending between $1.5 million and $4.5 million on each plane’s maintenance.
The Presidential Fleet and a heated debate
On March 23, 2024, the committee’s chairman, Satomi, moved a motion on the floor of the House to investigate the breakdown of planes in the presidential fleet.
He cited the reported malfunction of President Tinubu’s plane during a trip to the Netherlands and VP Shettima’s cancellation of a U.S. trip after his aircraft broke down.
Some lawmakers, notably opposition members, vehemently opposed the motion. After heated deliberations on the matter, the House’s Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, who presided over the session, ruled that the motion should be withdrawn and asked Mr. Satomi to exercise his committee’s discretion to probe the fleet’s status.
On the 20th of May, members of the committee conducted an investigative hearing during which they received briefings from M. Galadima, a major general and director at the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA); the commander of the Presidential Air Fleet, Olayinka Oyesola (air vice marshall); M.M. Abdullahi, a group captain and the PAF fleet logistics officer.
Based on the submission from the ONSA officials, the committee resolved at the end of the session that the government should prioritize the president’s and other VIPs’ safety when overhauling the presidential air fleet.
Nigeria’s Presidential aircraft
The committee also constituted a five-member panel to liaise with ONSA to determine the status and airworthiness of all aircraft in the PAF. The panel completed its assignment on June 4, 2024, issuing a report that strongly argued for the replacement of the aircraft currently being used by President Tinubu and his deputy.
The panel said a new aircraft “befitting the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should be procured, taking into consideration the country’s leading role in the West African, African, and global scheme of affairs.”
“That for ease of administration and in order to guarantee a secure and dedicated main and backup fleet for the office of the president at all times, it is recommended that a new aircraft akin to Air Force Two of the USA be procured for the office of the vice president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the subcommittee added.
“This can also serve the office of the presiding officers of the National Assembly, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, etc., as appropriate.”
The larger committee accepted those recommendations and has since forwarded its advisory to the presidency for necessary action.
