As President Bola Tinubu flew aboard the newly-acquired $100m aircraft to France on Monday, he left a trail of debate over necessity, accountability and due process in government spending, writes STEPHEN ANGBULU At about 03:30 pm local time on Monday, a France-bound Airbus A330 carrying Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu took off from Abuja, the nation’s capital. The bird is the newest item on the Presidential Air Fleet, which consists of aircraft nearly as old as Nigeria’s return to democracy. The nearly 15-year-old plane is an ACJ330-200, VP-CAC (MSN 1053) registered as 5N-FGA.
It features a bedroom, an office space, a conference room, and a dining room. At the rear, it has airline-style first-class and economy seating. Its VIP configuration meant that it is “spacious and furnished with state-of-the-art avionics, customised interior and communications system,” Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, said in a tweet on Monday night, describing the new acquisition which, he said, “saves Nigeria huge maintenance and fuel costs, running into millions of dollars yearly.
” For many Nigerians, however, Onanuga’s tweet only fueled their disapproval of flying a new jet only two weeks after young Nigerians protested the unbearable cost of living. For most citizens, the controversy stems not only from questions of fiscal prudence in an economically tight era but also from the opaque processes surrounding the procurement of the aircraft — .