Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said contrary to popular opinion, his principal, President Bola Tinubu, did not acquire a new official jet but a refurbished one.
“It’s not President Tinubu’s plane, it belongs to the people of Nigeria, it is our property,” Onanuga said on the Sunday edition of Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-economic programme aired on Channels Television.
He said some jets in the presidential fleet like a 19-year-old Boeing B737-700 purchased under ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo are all in bad condition, and their maintenance costs were outrageous. Hence, instead of spending a bogus amount of money on aircraft maintenance, the President sought the approval of the National Assembly for a refurbished jet still in good condition.
Onanuga said the refurbished Airbus A330 would save Nigeria high maintenance costs in servicing the old aircraft.
Onanuga urged Nigerians to prioritise the President’s safety, noting that the newly acquired plane is Nigeria’s property, not Tinubu’s.
The presidential spokesman said Tinubu won’t take the just-acquired jet with him when he leaves office. Onanuga said the jet would also benefit Tinubu’s successor.
Onanuga said, “The president did not buy a new jet; what he has is a refurbished jet – it has been used by somebody else before he got it but it is a much newer model than the one President Buhari used.
“The one President Buhari used was bought by President Obasanjo some 20 years ago.
“There was a time the President went to Saudi Arabia, that plane developed some problems and the President had to leave with a chartered jet to The Netherlands.”