FG spends N10.6bn on vice presidential jet engine overhaul over three years, accounting for more than half of fleet maintenance costs
The Federal Government has allocated a cumulative N10.61bn for the engine overhaul of the Gulfstream G550 aircraft assigned to Vice President Kashim Shettima over a three-year period, an analysis of federal appropriation bills has revealed.
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Budget documents covering 2024 to 2026 show that the aircraft, registered as 5N-FGW, accounted for 55 per cent of the N19.27bn spent on engine maintenance across the Presidential Air Fleet under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The analysis, based on appropriation bills obtained in Abuja, indicates that funding for the vice presidential jet rose sharply within the review period.
In 2024, the allocation for the overhaul of the aircraft’s engines stood at N1.24bn under project code ERGP31206170, listed as a new project.
By 2025, the allocation jumped to N5.51bn, representing a 345 per cent increase, with the project reclassified as ongoing.
In 2026, funding declined to N3.86bn, while retaining its ongoing status.
The 13-year-old Gulfstream G550, which operates under the call sign “Nigerian Air Force 2” when conveying the vice president, has a history of technical faults that have disrupted official travel.
In May 2024, Vice President Kashim Shettima aborted a trip to the United States for the US-Africa Business Summit in Dallas after the aircraft developed a fault mid-flight.
The incident followed an earlier episode in April 2024, when President Bola Tinubu chartered a private jet to Saudi Arabia after the same aircraft developed an oxygen leak in the Netherlands.
Four months later, in October 2024, Shettima again cancelled an international engagement after a foreign object struck the aircraft during a stopover in New York.
Presidency sources said the recurring faults likely necessitated urgent and extensive maintenance, driving the steep rise in budgetary allocations.
Aside from the vice presidential aircraft, the Federal Government allocated N6.98bn over three years for engine overhauls on two Falcon 7X jets in the fleet.
Another Gulfstream aircraft received N1.68bn for engine maintenance in 2024, with no further allocations in subsequent years.
Overall, engine overhaul expenditure across the Presidential Air Fleet amounted to N4.58bn in 2024, rose to N8.65bn in 2025, and declined to N6.05bn in 2026.
The spending peak in 2025 came a year after the Presidency took delivery of a new Airbus A330, acquired at about N150bn, which officials said would reduce long-term maintenance costs.
While engine overhaul spending fell in 2026, allocations for routine aircraft maintenance increased by 10 per cent within the same period.
Aviation experts attributed the rising costs to the age of the aircraft and mandatory maintenance cycles.
They said older jets require more frequent and expensive overhauls as engines and key components near the end of their operational lifespan.
Critics, however, described the spending as excessive, arguing that it contradicts public expectations of fiscal restraint amid economic hardship.
The Presidential Air Fleet, operated by the Nigerian Air Force from Abuja, currently comprises 10 aircraft, including fixed-wing jets and helicopters.
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At the time of filing this report, the Presidency had not responded to requests for details on the specific engine work carried out on the vice presidential aircraft.
David Okere is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering business, governance, public affairs, and human-interest stories with a commitment to accuracy, balance, and public interest reporting.
