BREAKING PROMISE TO CUT WASTE, BUHARI SPENDS N41.9BN ON PRESIDENTIAL FLEET

Under the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), the Presidential Air Fleet has so far cost taxpayers a total of 41.9bn, contrary to the promise Buhari made during the 2015 presidential election campaigns to reduce waste in governance by downsizing the presidential fleet.

As of October 2016, when the Presidency last made a public inventory of the PAF, the fleet included 10 aircraft, namely one Boeing Business Jet (or Air Force One) 737, one Gulfstream G550, one Gulfstream G500, one Hawker 4000, Co Falcon 7%, two AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters, and two AgustaWestland AW101 helicopters.

By the Presidency's own admission, Buhari's promise to sell some of the aircraft in the fleet was aimed at minimising the cost of governance.

In October 2016, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, assured journalists that some of the presidential jets would be sold in line with Buhari's directive that aircraft in the RAF be reduced to cut waste.

Shehu added that some aircraft in the dleet would also soon be handed over to the Nigerian Air Force for its operations.

He said, "When he campaigned to be president, the then APC candidate Muhammadu Buhari, if you recall, promised to look at the Presidential Air Fleet with a view to cutting down on waste.

"His directive to a government committee on this assignment is that he liked to see a compact and reliable aircraft for the safe airlift of the President, the Vice President and other jovernment officials that go on special missions This exercise is by no means complete."

Days later, the National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (retd), delivered the two AgustaWestland AW101 VIP helicopters in the presidential fleet to the Air Force later in October 2016, the Buhari regime advertised the sale of two of a Falcon 7% executive jet and the Hawker 4000.

However, in March 2018, Shehu told Saturday PUNCH that the bid amounts agreed upon by the two preferred bidders for the two aircraft stood at $24m, which was the projected sales figure.