Headline

How FG Spent N19bn on Presidential Planes in 15 Months – Report

Published

2 years ago

November 12, 2024

Eric

At least N19.43 billion has reportedly been spent on the maintenance and operations of the Presidential Air Fleet from July 2023 to September 2024.

According to GovSpend, a civic tech platform that tracks and analyses the Federal government’s spending, showed that for 2024, the payouts amounted to N13.55billion, representing 66 per cent of the allocations for the fleet in the 2024 fiscal year.

Most disbursements were labeled ‘Forex Transit Funds,’ typically funds allocated for foreign exchange requirements to facilitate international transactions and engagements.

In the context of the Presidential Air Fleet, such funds are used to cover expenses related to operations outside the country, including fuel purchases, maintenance or services in foreign currencies.

“When aircraft on the fleet are abroad, payments are often made in U.S. dollars or another foreign currency to ensure uninterrupted operations,” a government official explained.

In July 2023, N1.52bn was disbursed in two tranches of N846m and N675m for ‘Presidential air fleet forex transit funds.’

The following month, N3.1bn was disbursed in three tranches of N388m, N2bn, and N713m for the same item.

In November of that year, N1.26bn was released to the Presidential Air Fleet Naira transit account.

The first overhead for 2024 came in March, where N1.27bn were disbursed twice, amounting to N2.54bn. The transit account received N6.35bn in April, N4.97bn in May and N210m in July.

August saw the highest frequency of transactions, with N5.60bn released in six separate disbursements.

Although these transactions were not clearly labeled, the monies were paid into the Presidential Air Fleet naira transit account, including the N35m transfer made in September.

In late April, the transit account received N5.08bn; this came around the same time the President was on a two-nation tour to the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia.

Although Tinubu arrived in the Netherlands in a state-owned Gulfstream AeroSpace 550 Jet, the aircraft could not proceed to Saudi Arabia due to unspecified technical problems. He reportedly continued his journey on a chartered private plane.

At the time, the President’s Boeing 737 business jet was undergoing maintenance. It was later replaced with an Airbus A330 purchased for $100m in August through service-wide votes.

The nearly 15-year-old plane, an ACJ330-200, VP-CAC (MSN 1053), is “spacious and furnished with state-of-the-art avionics, customised interior and communications system,” Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga said, adding that it “will save Nigeria huge maintenance and fuel costs, running into millions of dollars yearly.”

The new Airbus A330 is just one of several aircraft currently on the Presidential Air Fleet, arguably one of Africa’s largest, with around 11 aircraft of various makes and models. Until August, it comprised the 19-year-old B737-700 and a 13-year-old Gulfstream Aerospace G550.

The BBJ was acquired during the tenure of former President Olusegun Obasanjo at $43m but became a money guzzler as it aged.

Onanuga, defending the purchase of Airbus A330, argued that the new Airbus 330 aircraft and the costs of maintaining the air fleet were not for the president but in the interest of Nigerians.

“It’s not President Tinubu’s plane; it belongs to the people of Nigeria, it is our property…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 when the President went to Saudi Arabia, and the plane developed some problems. The President had to leave the Netherlands with a chartered jet.

“Nigerians should try to prioritise the safety of the President. I’m not sure anybody wishes our president to go and crash in the air. We want his safety so that he can hand it over to whoever wants to take over from him,” Onanuga said.

The presidential aide said he discussed with the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, on the faulty plane [Boeing 737 jet] and he said the maintenance costs were excessive because of the age of the aircraft, hence the need for another plane.

The presidential fixed-wing fleet includes a Gulfstream G500, two Falcon 7Xs, a Hawker 4000, and a Challenger 605.

Three of the seven fixed-wings are reportedly unserviceable. Meanwhile, the rotor-wing fleet includes two Agusta 139s and two Agusta 101s, all operated by the Nigerian Air Force but supervised by the Office of the National Security Adviser.

Former President Buhari promised to reduce the number of aircraft in the PAF to the absolute necessary.

In April 2023, three jets were put up for sale, but there were no specifics on which.

However, efforts to sell one of the Dassault Falcon 7x and the Hawker 4000 in October 2016 stalled when a potential buyer reduced their initial offer from $24m to $11m.

Since 2017, budgetary allocations for the fleet have shown a growing trend, with one exception in 2020.

The allocation for the fleet increased from N4.37bn in 2017 to N20.52bn in 2024, showing a 370 per cent rise in running costs.

In 2018, the fleet’s budget rose significantly by 66.13 per cent to N7.26bn, driven by a substantial increase in capital project allocations while maintaining similar levels for recurrent costs. This upward trajectory continued into 2019, slightly increasing the total allocation to N7.30bn.

The exception came in 2020, when the budget dropped by nearly seven per cent to N6.79bn, primarily due to decreased overhead costs, a reflection of the global economic impacts of lockdowns and disruptions in operations.

By 2021, however, the budget surged dramatically to N12.55bn—a record increase of 84.83 per cent from the previous year.

In 2022, maintenance expenses for each aircraft ranged from $1.5m to $4.5m annually.

The 2022, 2023 and 2024 appropriation acts earmarked N12.48bn, N13.07bn and N20.52bn respectively.

On his way to the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit in Samoa, a foreign object damaged the cockpit windscreen of Vice President Kashim Shettima’s GulfStream aircraft during a stopover at JFK Airport in New York.

According to Lee Aerospace, manufacturers of the Gulfstream, jet windshields consist of thick multilayered structures of varying layers of glass and transparent acrylic built to withstand collision with a 2kg object.

However, damage to the windshield must have affected its inner layers. While specific prices for replacement can vary based on supplier, labour rates and regional costs, estimates suggest that a single windshield replacement for a G550 can range from $50,000 to $70,000 for part and labour costs.

In an interview with our correspondent, the General Secretary of the Aviation Round Table, Olumide Ohunayo, blamed the meteoric rise in the allocations for the PAF on the age of some of the aircraft in the fleet and declining value of the naira as well as the “commercial use” of aircraft by the Nigerian Air Force.

Ohunayo said, “The cost will definitely increase over the years because for one, this issue of the naira against the dollar. As the naira keeps falling to the dollar, we will see a rise in cost because most of the costs of training crew and engineers and replacing aircraft parts are all in dollars.

“Also, some of these aircraft are not new. The older the aircraft, the higher the cost of maintenance and operation.

“Lastly, during these past years, terrorism and insecurity have increased in Nigeria, which has also affected the cost of insuring the aircraft.”

For his part, the Executive Chairman of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, Debo Adeniran, argued that the administration’s spending habits were opposite to Nigerians’ expectations of frugality.

“What we are getting from this administration is opposite to our expectation. We thought we would have an administration that would be frugal in spending and very meticulous at implementing its budget.

“But what we are getting is an administration that has fallen in love with profligacy; that doesn’t see anything wrong in living big amid a poverty-stricken nation.

“It is a reenactment of the Shagari administration, whereby they bought the biggest Mercedes Benz and made themselves as comfortable as possible without considering how much the masses are suffering.

“So when you look at a Vice President saying he’s not travelling [to Samoa] again because there was a splinter on the windscreen of his private aircraft. Why should that be the case?

“First and foremost, we need to be represented at such an international meeting, where we should be well represented by the first two citizens of this country.

“He abandoned that, which means we would have lost certain representation that we deserve at that forum. Two, money will have been spent on advance parties that went ahead of the Vice President. But he abandoned the journey altogether.”

Headline

Parties’ Deregistration: ADC, Not NDC, is the Target

Published

1 day ago

June 29, 2026

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

As the 2027 presidential election draws closer, intrigues, manipulations and maneuvers have continued to be the order of the day as political parties engage in one gimmick or another to outdo and undo one another.

While some are playing politics of numbers and conviction, others are engaging tendencies that tend to question the status quo and established principles under which genuine democracy is formed. As a matter of fact, fingers have been pointed at the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal government as the brain behind all machinations that have attempted to derail multi-party democracy, and institute a one-party state, which is alien to the Nigerian democratic roots. This is as a result of the constant imbroglio that has consistently engulf almost all the major political parties in the country.

Fresh facts have however, emerged to prove that every act of frustration thrown at the opposition has been indirectly aimed at the main opposition party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

According to reliable sources, the recent deregistration of parties, especially the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), was actually targeted at the ADC.

Recall that the Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, on June, 26, set aside its earlier judgement directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the NDC as a political party. A ruling that put a question mark on the eligibility of the party presenting candidates in the forthcoming 2027 elections

The presiding judge, Isah Dashen, held that all relevant parties must be heard before any substantive decision can be made in the matter.

The court upheld the application filed by a certain organization, the Peace Movement Party (PMP), ruling that the party was a necessary party to the suit.

According to the judge, the earlier judgement was constitutionally defective as it was delivered without hearing from all interested parties.

He declared that such an omission rendered the entire process null and void.

Mr Dashen further ruled that the status quo be restored to what it was before the December 10, 2025 judgement, pending the determination of the substantive suit.

He also observed that certain material facts were suppressed in the earlier proceedings, which justified the decision to set aside the judgment.

Consequently, the court ordered that the substantive suit should begin afresh, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the PMP and the NDC as parties to the case.

According to NAN’s reports, the applicant’s lawyer, Chikezie Ekeocha, told journalists that the PMP approached the court after discovering that NDC’s registration was based on a logo it had previously submitted to INEC before the commencement of the suit.

According to Mr Ekeocha, the court agreed that the applicant’s rights had been affected and consequently vacated the earlier judgement.

“The court has ordered all parties to return to the position they occupied before the judgment of 10 December 2025, and directed the claimants to join all necessary parties to ensure the issues in dispute are effectually and completely determined,” he said.

He explained that the implication of the ruling is that every action taken by INEC in compliance with the now-vacated judgment stands reversed.

“The recognition of the NDC, the issuance of its certificate of registration, its inclusion in INEC’s records, and any appearance on ballot papers arising from that judgement must be withdrawn pending the final determination of the substantive suit,” Mr Ekeocha stated.

He, however, clarified that the substantive case remains before the court and has not been decided.

“The matter has not been concluded. The court merely set aside its previous judgment and directed that the party whose interests were affected be joined so that all sides can be heard before a fresh decision is reached.”

Mr Ekeocha also dismissed suggestions that the court merely ordered parties to maintain the status quo, insisting that the ruling specifically directed a restoration of the position that existed before the 10 December 2025 judgement.

The ruling effectively returns the dispute over the registration of the NDC to the Federal High Court for a fresh hearing, with all relevant parties expected to participate before a new determination is made.

It would also be recalled that a few weeks earlier, the Federal High Court in Abuja, had ordered the deregistration of five political parties including the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The others are Action People’s Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and Accord Party.

However, on June 16, the Court of Appeal in Abuja halted the enforcement of the judgement, ruling that it violated its earlier ruling staying proceedings before the Federal High Court.

While INEC awaits the release of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment to deregister the NDC, the NDC has reacted, rejecting the judgment as travesty of justice.

Lending credence to the notion that the President Tinubu-led administration is basically targeting the establishment of the ADC as a party, and the candidature of its presidential flagbearer, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who is also the presidential candidate of the ADC, has stated categorically that there are plots to prevent the party from participating in the 2027 general election.

Atiku’s position is stated in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu on Monday, notifying the public that he had received credible information suggesting that political and legal manoeuvres were being deployed against the ADC, stressing that the persecution that has been thrown towards the NDC was a clear distraction as the main target is the ADC.

Atiku alleged that anti-democratic elements within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were working to ensure that the ADC is excluded from the ballot.

“We are fully aware of their plots. While they seek to sow confusion within the opposition, we know their real target is the ADC because it represents the most credible alternative,” he said.

Atiku called on Nigerians to reject any attempt to determine which opposition parties participate in the election.

“We therefore call on all Nigerians — not just ADC members and supporters — to rise in defense of democracy and reject any attempt by the ruling party to cherry-pick which opposition parties are permitted to participate in the next general election,” he said.

“Our message to the APC and the hooded men plotting in dark chambers is simple: you may conspire, but you will not succeed.

“If the APC is truly confident in its popularity, why is it so terrified of the ADC?”

He said he hoped the information available to him would not materialise but argued that recent political developments made such concerns difficult to dismiss.

“The pattern has become all too familiar. First, institutions that ought to be neutral are drawn into partisan contests,” he said.

“Then, frivolous litigations suddenly gain unusual momentum. Administrative powers are selectively deployed.

“Political pressure is mounted behind closed doors. Before long, democracy itself becomes the casualty.”

Atiku alleged that the ruling party has focused more on weakening the opposition than addressing the country’s economic and security challenges.

“The obsession with silencing the opposition has become so consuming that governance itself has taken a back seat,” he said.

“At a time when Nigerians are battling hunger, inflation, unemployment, insecurity, and collapsing purchasing power, those entrusted with public office appear preoccupied with political survival rather than national survival.”

Nigerians recall that ever since the official rejuvenation of the ADC in June/July of 2025, where the duo of Senator David Mark and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola emerged as the party’s chairman and secretary respectively, the party has not known moments of peaceful coexistence as litigations from corners unknown have sprang up in a bid to destabilize the party and deprive it of the opportunity of featuring on the ballot paper come 2027.

ADC, as a child of circumstance emerged from the rumbles of the litigation-ridden former main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where two factions have consistently remelained at loggerheads over leadership. While the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who is working assiduously to ensure the reelection of Bola Tinubu, leads one faction, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, who became a defacto head, leads the other faction. In all, PDP appeared to have no direction, forcing many of its members to jump ship, thereby birthing the ADC, and to a large extent, the NDC, which is presenting Peter Obi as the presidential candidate, with former Kano governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, as his running mate.

Sources also informed The Boss that the hasty reading and passage of the Electoral Act 2026 by the Godswill Akpabio-led National Assembly, with many great areas left unattended to, were also part of the grand design to deprive the ADC the constitutional rights of presenting candidates for the 2027 elections.

But both the ADC and the NDC has vowed that they would follow every process to ensure that the crackdown on opposition parties by the Tinubu administration comes to an abrupt end.

But beyond the intrigues, Nigerians are gearing up to participate fully in the forthcoming election with cross sections of the population either hailing Tinubu for his policies or knocking him for the untold hardship in the land.

Headline

South Africa Nothing Without Africa – MTN Boss, Mcebisi Jonas

Published

4 days ago

June 27, 2026

Eric

The MTN Group Chairman, Mcebisi Jonas, has condemned the ongoing anti-foreigner sentiment in South Africa, describing it as a symptom of State failure being cynically exploited by politicians with no interest in genuine solutions.

The speech is seen as one of the most substantive interventions by a senior business figure into xenophobic crisis currently plaguing South Africa.

Delivered during the funeral service of Zimbabwean-born activist and public servant, Thokozani Damasane, Jonas’ words have sparked a wave of discussion across South African civil society.

“I was thinking, what is home to Damasane?” he said. “Because I understand, and I understood very early in life, that home is where humanity is. Home is about humanness. It is about the good of humanity and striving for the good of humanity.”

Thokozani Damasane was born and educated in Zimbabwe before relocating to South Africa during the post-apartheid transition period. Jonas described him as arriving “as an outcast” into a country still finding its post-liberation footing – and choosing, nonetheless, to commit himself entirely to its struggles and its people.

“He immersed himself deeply into the struggles, into the pains of South Africans, and he became one of us,” Jonas said.

“In Damasane’s strength, our strength as South Africa and South Africans is reflected. And in his weaknesses, our own weaknesses are reflected.”

Speaking further, Jonas blamed the state for the failure being witnessed, emphasising that if foreigners leave South Africa today, the country’s problems will still persist.

“Foreigners can leave tomorrow – inequality will be with us,” he told the congregation.

“Foreigners will leave tomorrow – unemployment will be with us. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our police will remain corrupt. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our politicians will still be concerned with one thing: being elected and re-elected.

“The problem is the failure of the state. The State doesn’t manage immigration. It doesn’t manage its borders. It doesn’t enforce
law enforcement. It doesn’t manage education. What are you expecting?”

Jonas argued that this failure created fertile ground for political manipulation. “When people feel the burn, they become vulnerable to politicians whose sole purpose is to be elected and re-elected. Some of them have no credibility whatsoever. But they lead marches and tell our people that the problem is not us – it is foreigners.”

Jonas recounted a conversation he had witnessed between Damasane and a young man who had challenged the right of foreigners to be in South Africa. Damasane’s response, Jonas said, had stayed with him ever since.

“Damasane said to this guy: Just wait fifteen or twenty years. You will also want to leave your country.”

Jonas told mourners those words now carry a weight Damasane may not have anticipated. “As I stand up today, I look at South Africa. The level of oppression and inequality, the level of exclusion of our people, the level of corruption, the betrayal of the dream of liberation – those words of Damasane ring very loud in my ears.”

South Africa is nothing without Africa

Jonas closed with a call for what he described as a return to “national consciousness” – one rooted in continental solidarity and economic interdependence rather than ethnic exclusion.

“We are a nation embedded in Africa,” he said. “And without Africa, our growth as a country – economically – our fortune is intertwined with the growth of Africa. South Africa is nothing without Africa. And Africa is nothing without South Africa.”

He also reframed the question of legacy and identity for Damasane’s children, who were present. “Sometimes this thing called meritocracy is measured in wealth. No. It is values, it is principles, it is integrity. And your father had all of that.”

“We cannot judge people by their origin,” he told mourners. “We cannot determine the legal status of people by their origin.”

Headline

NDC Rejects Court Ruling on Party’s Registration, Heads to Appeal Court

Published

4 days ago

June 27, 2026

Eric

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), on Friday, vowed to challenge the judgment nullifying its registration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), insisting that it would exercise its constitutional right of appeal.

Reacting to the ruling on Thursday, the party’s spokesman, Osa Director, said the NDC was still awaiting the certified copy of the judgment before making a comprehensive statement on the court’s decision.

He, however, confirmed that the party had resolved to head to the appellate court.

“We are still waiting to obtain a copy of the judgment. After reading the comprehensive judgment, we will make a detailed statement,” he said.

The spokesman added: “For now, what is certain is that we will exercise our right of appeal.”

Insisting that the party would challenge the ruling, he said: “It is our constitutional right to appeal, and we intend to exercise that right.”

When asked specifically whether the NDC would appeal the judgment voiding its registration, the spokesman replied: “Yes, the party will appeal the case.”

The party’s reaction came shortly after a Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State, in a judgement that nullified its registration by INEC, a development that could have significant implications for the NDC’s participation in the country’s political process ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The NDC, however, maintained that it would refrain from making further comments on the substance of the judgment until it had studied the full text of the court’s decision.

The party’s planned appeal is expected to set the stage for a fresh legal battle over its status and continued existence as a registered political party.