News
Presidential jet still unsold four months after listing
The Presidential Boeing 737-700 Business Jet, listed for sale by the Nigerian government in July 2025, remains unsold nearly four months after it was uploaded on an international aircraft sales platform.
This was confirmed through email exchanges between our correspondent and the marketing firm handling the listing, JetHQ, based in the United States.
In response to an inquiry, the company’s Market Research Assistant, Marinell Nuevo, confirmed that the aircraft “remains available.”
However, she referred further correspondence to the firm’s Market Research Manager, Ms Laurie Barringer, who declined to provide additional information on the sale.
“We do not provide this kind of information to anyone but the direct owner of the aircraft. This is considered proprietary information. I hope you can understand. The only data that we can provide you is that the aircraft remains available for sale,” Barringer stated in her reply.
A follow-up message demanding accountability, stating that the jet was bought and maintained with taxpayers’ money, has yet to be responded to as of press time.
The aircraft, a Boeing 737-700 Business Jet, is being managed by AMAC Aerospace, a Switzerland-based company specialising in maintenance and aircraft sales.
According to details on the listing, the aircraft has undergone partial refurbishment and multiple inspections at AMAC’s Basel facility in July 2024 — including full refurbishment of the first-class seats, replacement of cabin carpets, and completion of major C1–C2 inspections.
The listing describes the aircraft as “one owner since new, always hangared,” with a 33-passenger configuration and eight crew members, totalling 41 seats.
According to data from aircraftcostcalculator.com, a website that provides aircraft valuation estimates, a pre-owned Boeing 737 BBJ has an average market value of $56m, depending on its specifications and maintenance history.
“Depending on numerous factors, the average price for a pre-owned Boeing BBJ is $56,000,000. A $28,000,000 loan over 120 months, including $116,667 per month in interest, equates to a $1,404,024 per, period payment. Based on 450 annual owner – operated hours and $6 – per, GAL fuel cost, the Boeing BBJ has total variable costs of $3,900,915, total fixed costs of $1,301,481, and an annual budget of $5,202,396. This breaks down to $11,561 per hour,” it stated.
The operational cost for such a jet averages about $11,561 per flight hour, with an estimated annual ownership cost exceeding $5.2 million, including fuel, maintenance, and crew expenses.
The PUNCH had reported that the aircraft was originally purchased in 2005 for $43m under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Since then, it has been part of the Presidential Air Fleet.
In July 2025, the President Bola Tinubu administration decided to put the aircraft up for sale as part of a broader cost-cutting and fleet rationalisation effort, amid rising public scrutiny over government expenditure and the maintenance cost of multiple presidential aircraft.
Four months later, however, the sale has not been finalised — a situation that raises questions about global market interest, pricing, and the ongoing maintenance cost of the aircraft bought and maintained with taxpayers’ money.
The Nigerian Air Force, NAF, has taken delivery of five new helicopters as the Federal Government steps up efforts to modernise the country’s airpower capabilities and strengthen military operations against security threats.
The platforms comprise three AW-109 Trekker B helicopters manufactured by Leonardo Helicopters of Italy and two H-125 helicopters manufactured by Airbus Helicopters.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, Director of Public Relations and Information, Nigerian Air Force Headquarters, the NAF said the three AW-109s, which are part of 10 recently acquired by the Federal Government, were received in Lagos on September 15, 2026, while the remaining seven are expected to be delivered before the end of the year. The two H-125 helicopters had been delivered earlier.
The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, said the new helicopters would increase aircraft availability and improve the NAF’s ability to support ongoing military operations.
“The arrival of these five helicopters provides greater flexibility in the employment of airpower in support of ground troops in ongoing operations,” Aneke said.
He said the AW-109 Trekker B helicopters would enhance the NAF’s capabilities in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, close air support, armed escort, combat search and rescue, and other joint operations.
Aneke added that the H-125 helicopters would provide light helicopter support for various operational requirements.
The new platforms are undergoing post-delivery assembly and technical and crew-readiness processes ahead of their induction and operationalisation.
Aneke said the increased rotary-wing capacity would strengthen support for joint forces conducting operations against terrorism, kidnapping and banditry.
He said the NAF would also prioritise maintenance and logistics support to ensure the new aircraft remain available for operations.
The Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, has endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s bid for a second term in office, declaring that there will be “no vacancy” in the Presidential Villa, Abuja for the next four or five years.
Oba Akiolu gave the support when the Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, led members of the council on a courtesy visit to his palace in Lagos on Monday.
The monarch urged politicians to approach the 2027 General Elections with responsibility and ensure that the electoral process is peaceful and serves the interests of Nigerians.
Oba Akiolu cautioned members of the campaign council against actions capable of undermining the peace and stability of the country, even as he urged them to uphold honesty and shun the Machiavellian principle that the end justifies the means.
Speaking, the Director-General of the Campaign Council, Yari, said the delegation was in Lagos to seek the monarch’s blessings, prayers and counsel as the council begins its nationwide campaign activities ahead of the 2027 polls.
Yari said the APC believed President Tinubu deserved a second term to consolidate his administration’s efforts in the areas of the economy, security and infrastructure.
The Campaign D-G, while acknowledging the economic difficulties facing Nigerians, appealed for continued support for the president, saying APC leaders from the North would work to secure strong backing for Tinubu’s re-election across the region.
Receiving the delegation, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, described the visit as significant, noting that the council had made the Oba’s palace one of its early stops following its engagement with the Sokoto Caliphate.
Governor Sanwo-Olu said the visit underscored Lagos’ strategic importance to Nigeria’s political process, describing the state as the country’s commercial and economic nerve centre as well as a major political hub.
The visit was attended by Lagos APC leaders, local government chairmen, members of the National Assembly, state lawmakers and other party stakeholders.
Former Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Alhaji Mohammed Mani, has been endorsed as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP in Niger state
Alhaji Mani replaces Abubakar Sulaiman, who was elected at the PDP primary last May.
Sulaiman voluntarily withdrawn from the position in the interest of the peace unity and progress of the party.
The endorsement of the former FIRS boss for the governorship contest was made by PDP stakeholders from across the state at the state party secretariat.
Addressing the stakeholders, Alhaji Mani promised to deliver the state to the PDP in next year’s election and solicited the support of party faithful for the realisation of the objective.
The new PDP candidate had earlier contested for the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress(APC) which Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago got by “ consensus.”
He was among the APC aspirants who lost in the primary election and recently defected to the PDP.
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