The jet would be the largest in the country's presidential fleet.
An Airbus A330 jet (Photo: Shutterstock)
The Nigerian government has revealed that it plans to purchase a VIP-configured Airbus A330 for governmental transport. The aircraft currently lies with an unnamed German Bank, with the value of the offer submitted being $100 million.
As reported by the Premium Times newspaper, the Airbus A330 is foreclosed. This means that it has been mortgaged by its owner, however, its owner has failed to keep up on mortgage payments and so it has been taken into the bank’s possession.
The aircraft was repossessed from a Saudi Sheikh who had broken the loan agreement by failing to make payments. While the offer from the Nigerian government stands at $100 million, the aircraft is apparently valued at $600 million, a number severely impacted by its VIP configuration.
According to ch-aviation, the main presidential aircraft of Nigeria consists of a 19-year-old Boeing 737-700. Because the Boeing 737 is currently in maintenance, the vice president’s 13-year-old Gulfstream G550 is often used instead. Also in the presidential fleet are a number of other executive aircraft, such as two Dassault Falcon 7Xs and a Gulfstream G500.
This would make the 14-year-old Airbus A330, reported to be registered as 5N-FGA, the largest aircraft ever to be in the Nigerian presidential fleet. It was recommended by the National Security Committee at the Nigerian House of Representatives last month that a larger aircraft be procured to reflect Nigeria’s powerhouse status on the continent.
The former Nigerian president, Muhammudu Buhari, promised to reduce the number of aircraft in the Presidential air fleet. However, these attempts went stale after an attempt to sell one of the Falcon 7Xs fell through. Maintenance costs on the fleet have since increased, meaning that buyers are unwilling to purchase the aircraft.
For now, the order is definitely not finalized, meaning that it could easily fall apart at any time. This is somewhat likely given that the offer submitted is worth one-sixth of the aircraft’s estimated value.
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