Buhari Fails To Sell Any Presidential Jet In His 2nd Year In Office Even As He Preaches Prudence To World Leaders

President Muhammadu Buhari has failed to match his words with actions in his second year in office after he promised Nigerians the stars and offered them the moon to defeat former President Goodluck Jonathan in a tough presidential election in March 2015.

He had promised to run a small government, eradicate corruption and eliminate waste in government. Selling some presidential aircraft would be one of the pressing issues for his administration, he and his campaign said.

While in opposition, members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, repeatedly said that governance in Nigeria was too expensive and lambasted Mr. Jonathan for keeping a large fleet in a country where most people were stuck in abject poverty and daily hardship.

But, in his second year in office, Mr. Buhari has continued to crisscross the world in presidential aircraft. He recently asked Nigerians not to expect anything that they could not offer themselves. But that demand triggered anger from Nigerians who have not seen any concrete action from Mr. Buhari.

Mr. Buhari gave himself a pass mark on Saturday before leaving New York where he had gone to attend the United Nations General Assembly with his wife and kids as well as an alleged huge delegations.

But despite all his meetings in Germany, the United States, France, Iran, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and elsewhere, Nigerians have seen very little improvements in their daily lives.

Rather becoming better off, life seems to have become harder for them with skyrocketing prices of foodstuff, hardly affordable fuel and lack of jobs and opportunities. The naira has crash and the Chibok girls he promised he would rescue are nowhere to be found.

The Punch newspaper reported recently that the presidential fleet in Nigeria contains 10 aircraft from all types.

Check their names: One Boeing Business Jet (Boeing 737-800 or AirForce One), one Gulfstream 550, one Gulfstream V (Gulfstream 500), two Falcons 7X, one Hawker Sidley 4000, two AgustaWestland AW 139 helicopters and two AgustaWestland AW 101 helicopters.

The Punch said Each of the two Falcon 7X jets were purchased in 2010 by the Federal Government for $51.1m, while the Gulfstream 550 costs $53.3m, according to a former Minister of Information, the late Pro. Dora Akunyili.

The newspaper also reported recently that ‘’despite the biting economic recession in the country, the Federal Government has spent the sum of N5bn on the 10-aicraft Presidential Air Fleet in the last 15 months’’.

The Punch quoted some documents it obtained showing that the Presidency had put the amount of money so far released for the Presidential Air Fleet since the inception of the current administration in May 2015 till date in the region of N5bn.

‘The breakdown of the sum showed that N2.3bn was released for PAF by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation between May and November 2015.

‘That figure included releases for personnel costs, overheads and capital expenditures; out of the N5.19bn appropriated for PAF in the 2015 budget.

‘Of the sum, the Presidency said N99.715m was spent on aircraft maintenance, spares and subscription services.

‘The sum of N98.5m was also spent on operations; N165.373m on training and N85.5m on personnel medicals and overheads.

‘During the period, the document claimed that PAF spent N1.350bn to settle outstanding liabilities carried over from 2014 while N500m was refunded to the NSA for financial support rendered for the maintenance of the Fleet prior to release of funds.

‘According to findings from aviation experts, however, the Federal Government may have spent about N19.9bn on the 10-aircraft PAF in the last 15 months of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

‘The large-size PAF inherited from the former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration is the second largest airline in the country, coming after Arik Air which has 23 aircraft in its fleet,’’ the newspaper said.

Despite presidential claims that Mr. Buhari is fighting corruption, his inability to sell any of the presidential aircraft has left many wondering whether the change he so vehemently promised was just a farce.