- Safiu Kehinde
The Federal Government has put up the one of its Presidential jet for sale in Switzerland.
Amid growing concerns and scrutiny over the fleet of jets possessed by President Bola Tinubu, the Boeing 737‑700 Business Jet (BBJ) currently hosted by AMAC Aerospace in Basel was listed for sale as its cost of maintenance soars.
The BBJ was purchased for $43 million in 2005 under the administration of former President, Olusegun Obasanjo.
With almost two decades in service, the aircraft has, according to report, become increasingly expensive to maintain and subject to safety scrutiny, particularly after a mechanical incident during an official trip to Saudi Arabia in April 2024.
Tinubu’s transition to a refurbished Airbus A330-200 last August had led to the sale of the Boeing 737‑700 Business Jet (BBJ) with its listing reportedly disclosed via a US-based aircraft listing site, The Controller: https://www.controller.com/listing/for-sale/244434099/2005-boeing-bbj-jet-aircraft.
As captured in a post shared on Instagram by Nigerian media entrepreneur, Dele Momodu, the elegance of BBJ’s interior still remained intact.
The passenger seats still contained the Nigerian coat of arm with the luxury bed space and toilet well maintained despite the aircraft’s decades of service.