Buhari orders the sale of nine of Nigeria's 16 presidential aircraft in bid to cut costs

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has asked state house officials to sell nine of the 16 aircraft in Nigeria's presidential fleet as part of a cost-cutting drive to reduce the amount the government costs the country.

 

Nigeria has one of the most expensive governments in the world, with the National Assembly alone costing about 3% of the country's budget. Nigerian legislators are the highest paid in the world and the presidency is run like a monarchy with 16 VIP jets used to ferry a large retinue of aides whenever the president travels abroad.

 

However, President Buhari who was elected with a mandate to cut graft, squandermania and eliminate corruption, has begun tackling the problem. He now travels with a very small team and unlike previous presidents who were picked up on the tarmac, he goes through airport security just like any other passenger.

 

Nigeria's presidential fleet, registered as Nigerian Air Force aircraft, is one of the largest in Africa and the third largest in the country after those of Arik Air and Aero Contractors. According to one aviation source, who is aware of the directive to sell the aircraft, the presidency has a number of serviceable and unserviceable aircraft that need to be disposed of in order to reduce the amount spent by the federal government for maintenance annually.

 

Annually, the federal government spends over N12bn (£380m) on the maintenance of the presidential fleet, including a Boeing 738 BBJ, NAF 001 or Eagle One, used by the president for his travels Nigerian Air Force reveals that the fleet also boasts of two Dassault Falcon 900 jets, a Gulfstream IVSP, a Gulfstream V, a Dornier Do 228, which can carry 19 passengers, one Beechcraft King Air B200 and three AugustaWestland AW139 helicopters.

 

Other planes in the Nigerian Air Force VIP transport fleet include two Dassault Falcon 7X jets, one Hawker Siddeley 125-800 and one Cessna 550 Citation II. Each of the two Dassault Falcon 7X jets were purchased for $51.1m in 2010 while the Gulfstream 550 cost $53.3m.

Aviation experts also put the average price of the Falcon 900 at $35m, that of the Gulfstream IVSP at $40m, the Gulfstream V at $45m, the Cessna Citation at $7m and the Hawker Siddeley at $15m. Although all the aircraft are under the presidential fleet, about eight of the planes are reserved strictly for the president.

 

These include the Boeing 737, the two Gulfstream 550 jets, the Gulfstream V jet, two Falcon 7X planes, the Hawker Siddeley aircraft and one AugustaWestland chopper. Others including the two Falcon 900 planes, the Dornier, the Cessna Citation, the Beechracft King Air, and two AugustaWestland choppers, are reserved for executive airlifts.

 

Aircraft reserved for executive airlift are used by the vice president, senate president, speaker of the House of Representatives, ministry of foreign affairs and to convey African heads of states visiting or departing Nigeria. Top of the range though is the Boeing 738 BBJ, which has a master bedroom, washrooms and showers, a conference and dining area and seats 25 to 50 passengers and would cost at least $100m to replace today.