FG to sell ageing presidential jets
The federal government has reportedly put three presidential jets on sale amidst plans to purchase new ones.
According to an online newspaper, The Cable, a US-based airline marketer, JetHQ, has been appointed as the broker to sell the aircraft.
The fleet put up for sale are Boeing 737 Boeing Business Jet, BBJ, which is the president’s designated aircraft, one Gulfstream, and a Falcon 7x.
The presidential fleet consists of six aircraft and six helicopters. The aircraft include one Boeing Business Jet used as Air Force One said to be 19 years old, currently unserviceable and undergoing maintenance; one Gulfstream G550 [13 years old, in good condition], one Gulfstream GV [23 years old, unserviceable], two Falcon 7Xs [one serviceable, one unserviceable], and one Challenger CL605 (12 years old, serviceable.
The report said JetHQ is to value the three aircraft and subsequently market them.
Quoting a sources in the presidency, the report said the federal government decided to put up three aircraft for sale to augment whatever money would be sent on procuring a new one.
Recall that a recent report that the House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence recommended the purchase of two new jets for the president and vice president.
But the source said the government can’t afford to buy two new aircraft at the moment.
“We saw the report and recommendation by the lawmakers. But the truth of the matter is that we can not afford to buy two aircraft at a go, even though we are selling off others. The approval now is to find one whose cost is not too much that we can augment with what we raise from this sale,” the source said.
The report explained that the marketing firm has already submitted three bids from buyers to the Office of the National Security Adviser for consideration.
“Yes, we have received two offers for the BBJ and one for the Falcon X. But the NSA insisted that we must press for a better deal instead of rushing to have a bad deal for the government,” an PAF official involved with the process said on condition of anonymity.
Spokesperson to the NSA, Zakari Mijinyawa, confirmed the ongoing disposal process.