Presidential Jet Saga: FG Set To Buy Repossessed Aircraft Despite Akpabio’s Denial

Despite Nigeria’s Senate Speaker Godswill Akpabio’s denial of media reports, which indicated plans by the Tinubu-led administration to buy a presidential jet, new reports have confirmed the ongoing negotiations to buy the plane.

According to Premium Times, the Nigerian government will purchase an Airbus A330 aircraft, a repossessed aircraft recovered from an unnamed Arab Prince and businessman who could not repay a loan to a German bank.

The aircraft, reportedly worth $600 million (₦915 billion), is in the possession of L & L International LLC, an American aircraft dealer based in Miami, Florida. However, the Nigerian government is offering $100 million (₦152.5 billion) as a buy price.

It would be recalled that yesterday, Thursday, June 27, the Senate Speaker, Akpabio, said the 10th Senate-Assembly does not have any request from the Presidency indicating demand for the purchase of the president’s jet but would approve taxpayers’ money to buy the presidential jet if the Presidency requested it.

Akpabio added that if requested, the approval would occur to avoid the case of a potential crash, citing the helicopter crash that led to the death of Malawi’s vice president, Dr Saulos Chilima and Iran’s President, Ebrahim Raisi.

Meanwhile, despite public outcry on the government’s failure to prioritise solving food insecurity and economic imbalance in the country, the federal government is reportedly considering dipping into the N180 billion contingency fund included in the 2023 supplementary budget after a service-wide vote.

Read more: Pharmacy Council Of Nigeria Shuts Down 531 Illegal Medicine Shops In Abuja

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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