Buhari orders sale of 2 presidential jets to 'cut down on waste'

The Nigerian government has advertised the sale of two aircrafts in the presidential fleet. A Falcon 7x executive jet and Hawker 4000 are the two aircrafts supposed to be disposed off. The office of the national security adviser is said to be in charge of the sale.

The online news portal, Vanguard, reports that the federal government placed an advertisement in a national daily to that effect. Vanguard further reports that bidders were asked to quote their interests in dollars.

The full page advert gave specifications for both aircrafts including the highlights, the performance data and interior highlights of the aircrafts.

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

‘‘Interested buyers were asked to inspect the Falcon at the prersidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja; and the Hawker at Cessna Zurich Citation Service Center, Zurich, Switzerland,’‘ Vanguard further reported.

The fleet of Nigeria’s presidency has been a subject of debate in Africa’s most populous nation. The call to trim the fleet has heightened in times of economic difficulty.

A presidential spokesperson on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, had hinted that the fleet would be reduced in September. His tweet to that effect read, ‘‘There is a government committee already in place, working to reduce the number of aircraft in the presidential fleet.’‘ He said the move “is in line with the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari that aircraft in the Presidential air fleet be reduced to cut down on waste.”

Shehu added that the exercise in respect of cutting down the fleet was still ongoing. In a response to a question about the remaining jets, he added, “Some of the aircrafts will be handed over to the Nigerian Air force to boost their operations.”

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

Nigeria, Africa’s second largest economy, officially entered a state of economic recession for the first time in over 20 years. This came after current figures revealed that the economy contracted for a second consecutive quarter.

According to the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics, the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted by 2.06% in the second quarter. The GDP shrunk by 0.36%.

A recession is a period of temporary economic decline during which trade and industrial activities are reduced, generally identified by a fall in GDP in two successive quarters.

The cause of the slump is believed largely to be as a result of the slump of oil prices on the world market. That situation has been worsened by renewed insurgency in the Niger Delta region, the attacks on oil installations continue to disrupt production of oil in the region.