Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu travelled to France on Monday for a “work stay” on a newly acquired private jet, sparking criticism as the West African nation endures a cost-of-living crisis.
The Airbus A330 business jet, now registered to the Nigerian Air Force, left the capital Abuja for Nice, according to FlightRadar24. The model, typically used as a twin-aisle passenger jet, was purchased last month for $100 million, according to Premium Times, a local online newspaper. It had been advertised on Aircraft24, a platform to buy and sell aircraft.
“The new plane, bought far below the market price, saves Nigeria huge maintenance and fuel costs, running into millions of dollars yearly,” Bayo Onanuga, a spokesman for the presidency said in an emailed statement. It replaces a 19-year-old Boeing 737-700, Onanuga said.
The latest addition to Nigeria’s presidential fleet prompted an outcry on social media, coming amid a cost-of-living crisis that’s triggered unrest in Africa’s most populous nation.
At least 21 people died in Aug. 1 protests after security forces cracked down, according to Amnesty International. Nearly half of the people in Nigeria live in extreme poverty.
The decision to buy a presidential jet while people “are going through a horrifying economic hardship shows the insensitivity of this administration,” Peter Obi, the second runner-up to Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election, said in a post on X.
“It has also exposed multiple dimensions to our leadership failure and our insensitivity to the plight of the growing poor class in our midst.”
Inflation accelerated to a 28-year high of 34.2% in June in Nigeria before slowing in July to 33.4%.
Pump prices have more than doubled after Tinubu cut fuel subsidies, while the local currency has depreciated by 70% since June last year.
The A330 was acquired from AMAC Aerospace, according to data on tracking website planespotters.net. The aircraft was previously owned by Midroc Aviation.
Source: Bloomberg
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