The Buhari-led APC administration rode into Aso Rock on the back of a change-centered campaign. The promises they made were centered around fighting corruption and reducing the cost of governance but it is obvious they have failed at keeping their own promises.
The budgetary allocation to the Presidential Air Fleet has risen by 121 per cent in eight years. Findings indicate that the President, Muhammadu Buhari has since 2016 allocated N81.80bn for the Presidential Air Fleet maintenance and foreign trips.
The amount includes N62.47bn for the operation and maintenance of PAF, N17.29bn for foreign and local trips and N2.04bn earmarked for other related expenses. The Presidency has maintained 10 aircraft since the inception of the Buhari regime in May 2015.
The presidency has covered the maintenance cost of 10 aircrafts since the inception of the Buhari administration in May 2015. They include Boeing Business Jet (Boeing 737-800 or NAF 001), one Gulfstream g550, one Gulfstream V (Gulfstream 500), two Falcons 7X, one Hawker Siddeley 4000, two AgustaWestland AW 139 helicopters and two AgustaWestland AW 101 helicopters.
In the 2016 budget, N3.65bn was allocated for the PAF, but this rose by 720m to N4.37bn in the 2017 fiscal year. In 2018 and 2019, the allocation almost doubled, amounting to N7.26bn and N7.30bn respectively.
Closer observation showed a slight drop by N503.75m in 2020, where N6.79bn was budgeted for the PAFs. This drop was as a result of the global lockdown following the outbreak of COVID-19 which stalled flight operations for 2020.
In the two years following the pandemic, the allocation almost doubled, rising to N12.55bn and N12.48bn for the 2021 and 2022 fiscal budgets respectively. However, it dropped by 35 per cent in the 2022 and 2023 appropriation bills, with the latter showing an N8.07bn allocation for the PAF.
The Offices of the President and Vice President earmarked N17.29bn for both local and foreign trips.
Buhari and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo spent N1.4bn on travels in 2016; N1.29bn in 2017; N1.30bn in 2018; N1.30bn in 2019; N2.28bn in 2020; N3.23bn in 2021 and N3.09bn in 2022. They proposed N3.34bn for the 2023 fiscal year. Aircraft fueling for that period also gulped at least N2.69bn, bank charges, N53.01m and insurance premium on all 10 aircraft on the fleet, N1.78bn.
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