There’s an increasing apprehension regarding the substantial maintenance expenses of Nigeria’s presidential aircraft, Air Force 001, dedicated to serving President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, with costs amounting to billions of naira, Daily Trust reports.

A senior official familiar with the maintenance of the presidential fleet told Daily Trust that the aircraft’s routine servicing and parts acquisition have been consuming vast sums of money.

He noted that while the money dedicated to maintaining the presidential fleet is not a new trend, erstwhile Presidential Air Fleet Commandeer, AVM AA Yaro, has recommended its demobilization.

The Air Force 001 is a 737 Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) bought during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo at the cost of $43m. While the age of an aircraft does not matter in terms of its performance, the maintenance cost increases, unlike newer and more modern aircraft.

It was also gathered that a month to the expiration of the tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari, the aircraft was sent for comprehensive maintenance ahead of the inauguration of Tinubu’s government. Since Tinubu took over and inherited the aircraft, it has been sent for other rounds of scheduled and non-scheduled maintenance, Daily Trust said.

Sources told the publication that the aircraft had amassed over $5m in maintenance bills, constituting nearly half of the over $10m liabilities inherited at the presidential fleet.

A source said;

“Due to the age of the aircraft, maintenance cost has increased in recent times, and the amount of money spent on maintenance is huge. I am wondering how long it would take to continue to spend this much on maintenance when it could have been disposed of and a new one purchased.”

The General Secretary, Society of Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineers (SLAMEN), Sheri Kyari, also advised that purchasing a new one would be better to reduce the maintenance cost.

He said;

“It is better for the government to buy a new one. How much is a brand new aircraft? They should be able to get something much better from Boeing. For me, Boeing is still the way to go.”

Investigations revealed that neighboring nations have relatively newer aircraft in comparison to Nigeria. For example, Ivory Coast not only possesses two Gulfstream aircraft in its presidential fleet but also utilizes A319 and A320 for extended journeys. Similarly, Senegal employs A320Neo and A319 alongside other smaller jets.

An aircraft engineer who did not want his name in print said;

“Even the US president’s aircraft is older than our president’s. Is the US president not flying a 747? That aircraft cannot be less than 30. You can actually put a brand new engine on an aircraft and it becomes new.

“Again, we must acknowledge that the president is an important personality. So, you cannot micromanage things for him. He deserves something better, but when we know the history and maintenance record of the aircraft, we can decide to say, ‘Okay, this is what we should do.’”