Presidential jet: Peter Obi asks FG to disclose cost, age of aircraft

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general election, has urged President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government to come clean on details of the new presidential jet, including the age and cost of the aircraft.

He made these demands on Tuesday night on his X handle.

President Tinubu, on Monday, embarked on a ‘working’ visit to France aboard a newly acquired Airbus A330 business jet, amid controversies surrounding its purchase. The model is said to cost about $100m and has now been registered to the Nigerian Air Force.

“Now that the Jet is here, Nigerian taxpayers whose money was used to purchase it need to be privy to how much it cost and how old the aircraft is and how long it’s been in operation

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“In addition, Nigerians also deserve to know about how the old jets are being disposed of, how many of them, how old they are, and why they are being sold. Transparency and accountability should be the hallmark of any genuine leadership,” Obi stated via his X handle.

He said the government will lose nothing but respect if it fails to provide adequate information about its leadership to the people whose money is being deployed and whose mandate the president is holding.

“A presidential jet is a major symbol of national sovereignty and state power. How much it costs to transport the president, is a major issue of public accountability.

“I hope that Nigerians will not be denied the right of full disclosure on the new presidential jet,” he added.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.