On Tuesday, October 4, the federal government advertised the sale of two aircraft in the presidential fleet.
Garba Shehu, the president’s senior special assistant on media and publicity, confirmed this in a series of tweets from his Twitter handle @GarShehu.
He said this is in line with the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari that aircraft in the presidential air fleet be reduced to cut down on waste.
The Office of the National Security Adviser advertised the sale of two airplanes in a national daily, adding that the aircraft that are currently up for sale are Falcon 7x and Hawker 4000 and are to be quoted in dollars.
The president’s senior special assistant also said some of the aircrafts will be handed over to the Nigerian Air force to boost their operations.
Read the tweets below:
The newspaper adverts for the sale of 2 Presidential aircraft, a Falcon 7x executive jet & Hawker4000 were duly authorized by the Presidency
— Garba Shehu (@GarShehu) October 4, 2016
This is in line with the directive of President @MBuhari that aircraft in the Presidential air fleet be reduced to cut down on waste.
— Garba Shehu (@GarShehu) October 4, 2016
Some of the aircrafts will be handed over to the Nigerian Air force to boost their operations. https://t.co/ODLLV128N6
— Garba Shehu (@GarShehu) October 4, 2016
It was earlier reported that interested buyers were asked to inspect the Falcon at the presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International, Airport, Abuja, and the Hawker at Cessna Zurich Citation Service Centre, Zurich, Switzerland.
The Presidential Aircraft Fleet contains 10 aircraft. They are Boeing Business Jet (Boeing 737-800 or AirForce One), one Gulfstream 550, one Gulfstream V (Gulfstream 500) and two Falcons 7X. Others are one Hawker Sidley 4000, two AgustaWestland AW 139 helicopters and twoAgustaWestland AW 101 helicopter.
Recall that President Buhari one year ago promised Nigerians to cut the cost of governance by selling a part of his presidential air fleet.
Meanwhile, mixed reactions have trailed the proposed sale of two of the jets used by President Muhammadu Buhari.
While some Nigerians have commended the move, others argue that this should have been done earlier. Some however expressed doubt about how the money from the sale of the jet will be managed.