FG move to avert future presidential embarrassment…. acquires three aircrafts

After the embarrassing incident in Ugandan, penultimate week, in which President Jonathan was left stranded, the Nigerian Government on Wednesday approved the purchase of three additional aircrafts for the Presidential Air Fleets (PAF) at a cost of $150 million.

Dassault Aviation of France will supply two units of new Falcon 7x Aircrafts , while the Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation of United States (US) will supply the Gulfstream G550 . At a briefing, after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, which was presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan , at the Presidential Villa, Abuja , minister of information and communications, professor Dora Akunyili , said that negotiations at the instance of the president led to definite purchase agreement (DPA) signed in May 2010 for the acquisition of the aircrafts.

'The sum of N21 billion has been provided in the 2010 appropriation act for the outright purchase of the two Falcon 7x aircraft and the one unit G550 to be delivered as agreed in the contract', she disclosed. Akunyuili put the cost of the two Falcon jets at $102 million while the Gulfstream cost $53 million brining the total cost of the three planes to $154 million. She said that the committee which was set up to carryout the negotiations of the purchase of the aircrafts through screwed negotiations a rebate of $2.9 million on the two Falcon jets and $5.47 million on Gulfstream jet.

The first of the two Falcon jets will be delivered by the end of the fourth quarter of 2010 while the second Falcon and the Gulfstream jest will be delivered by the end of the second quarter of 2011.