·Fleet among the largest in the world
This piece was first published in Vanguard on
Before then, senior
The argument was that since the Chief of Staff was the head of the staff attached to the President and since he was aware of the hourly movement of the President, he was in a better position to control the fleet adequately.
I understand the fleet is now under the National Security Adviser.
Before 1999, the fleet was almost dormant for lack of use.
General
General Sani Abacha hardly travelled outside
In fact, during his era, pilots attached to the Presidential Fleet complained of under utilisation, raising fears that they might lose their licenses for not flying enough.
In 1997, Abacha made only five trips outside
General Abdusalami Abubakar, who spent less than eleven months in office, was too busy with his transition programme that he hardly travelled.
He made four trips during his era, among which were two to
Flying President
As for President
He loves to fly. That is the way he is. And the pilots attached to the Presidential Fleet loved him for that.
Important posting
The Presidential Fleet remains today the most important posting in the
For example, the present Chief of Defence Staff, Marshall Alex Sabundu Badeh, was an officer of the Presidential Fleet, as he flew former Vice-President
Even the present Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Nunayun Amosu, was an officer of the Nigeria Presidential Air Fleet too.
The fleet is among those with the largest number aircraft in the world in comparison to other countries.
Who has what?
The British Prime Minister has no presidential aircraft.
Members of the British Government charter either
The government of
An Airbus A340-500 has also been purchased and VIP configured, but was never used for travel and has been stored since 2011 revolution that ousted former dictator
The Tunisian government is reportedly trying to sell both aircraft.
The government of
The Chief Executive of
He travels in helicopters operated by the Government Flying Service.
The Ivorian government uses a Gulf IV as a VIP aircraft.
Further, they also use a government Boeing 727-200WGL.
The
Wherever the current Prime Minister
As of 2014, the Knesset was considering the purchase of such an aeroplane, dubbed 'Israeli Air Force One'.
Fokker Executive plane was purchased at a cost of
The 70-seater jet was reconfigured and fitted with telecommunication facilities.
Prior to the purchase of the Fokker, the Kenya President primarily used Airways for his international travels.
The Saudi Arabian
The President, Prime Minister of
However, on rare occasions or short trips, government officials may travel on one of the few passenger-configured Fokker-50 operated by the Republic of
The President of
21 Squadron also operates a fleet of two Falcon 50 and a Falcon 900B Fleet,550/1 Citation 2, and a Global Express XRS is hired to escort the President on long flights as a back-up aircraft.
The Falcon 900 is normally used by the Deputy President and high-ranking cabinet ministers.
The President of
Occasionally, the President will share the plane with commercial passengers on scheduled flights.
There are other two other VIP aircraft: a Fokker F-50 and F-28 for internal and regional destinations as well.
The President of
The Botswana Defence Force operated a Gulfstream IV transport but has since been sold and the Botswana Defence Force now operates a Global Express OK1.
The government of Burkina uses a special Boeing 727.
A Falcon 900 has been added, and is the type frequently in use now.
The Egyptian government operates an Airbus A340-200 as a VIP transport.
The first presidential airplane was given as a gift from
The Pope is one of the richest and famous men on earth. He is the Head of the
Typically, the Pope flies on a chartered
The Nigerian's Presidential Air Fleet is maintained with over
Poor states like Osun, Gombe, Ebonyi, Ekiti get less than
The Presidential Fleet of
The Presidential Air Fleet has ten aircraft. They include two Falcon 7X jets, two Falcon 900 jets, Gulfstream 550, one Boeing 737 BBJ (
Others are Gulfstream V, Cessna Citation 2 and Hawk Siddley 125-800 jet.
Each of the two Falcon 7X jets purchased in 2010 cost
In addition, the Federal Government last year submitted several new items to be purchased by the Presidential Air Fleet to the
The items listed as new in the PAF budget are- the completion of hanger project (N405,500,000.00), tyre bay tools and equipment (N106,000,000.00), Towberless tow tractor for aircraft towing (N58,740,000.00), hanger sweeper (N31,870,000.00), luggage conveyor belt truck (N28,898,000.00) and Harlan tow aircraft equipment towing ( N27,590,000.00).
Other news items are- CCTV and surveillance equipment (N18,000,000.00), aircraft tools and equipment (N11,480,000.00), battery workshop equipment (N5,050,000.00), complete tool box for general works and vehicles ( N 360,000.00), heavy duty crocodile jacks ( N 300,000.00), aluminium ladder (N285,000.00), safety boots (N52,500.00) and foldable ladder (N50,000.00).
Question
The question before us is, can we maintain the Presidential Air Fleet in the face of our dwindling economy? The answer is no.
The alternative is to sell some of the aircraft to reduce cost.
It is even cheaper to charter planes for some of our top officials than to maintain the Presidential Air Fleet as it is now.
The other angle is to let the
I think we have many projects to tackle instead of the temporary comfort of our leaders. All these are for the consideration of the incoming government of Major General (rtd.)
In his Essays of Innovation,
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