Oluwanifemi Ojo
The Boeing 737 Presidential jet used by Nigeria’s President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), for the past eight years, has been flown out of the country for comprehensive maintenance ahead of the inauguration of a new President on May 29, 2023.
According to The Punch, the exact location of the maintenance is not known, but past maintenance on the aircraft had been carried out by Boeing in the United States of America.
Buhari will be flown on another aircraft for the next four weeks while the 20-year-old aircraft is undergoing maintenance. The aircraft will be returned in May and handed over to the new administration after major upgrades to its avionics and other mechanical systems.
In 2001, the Senate approved a sum of N5.5bn for the purchase of a new presidential aircraft for then-President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The Senate had earlier refused a request by Obasanjo in 2000, but he renewed his request after a technical fault left him stranded in Switzerland.
In February of that year, Obasanjo sought the Senate’s approval for $19m as part of monies to purchase eight new aircraft for the Presidential air fleet.
He had told the upper legislative chamber, “It is necessary to start the process of renewing the presidential fleet of aircraft, some of which are 20 years old and beyond.”
Boeing’s military aircraft division builds modified 737 planes at its manufacturing facilities in Everett and Renton, Washington, and South Carolina.
The Boeing 737 Presidential jet used by Nigeria’s President for the past eight years was built by the company. Past maintenance on the aircraft had also been carried out by Boeing in the United States of America.
