The Presidency has come out to defend President Bola Tinubu’s recent acquisition of a refurbished Airbus A330.
The clarification follows widespread criticism from various sections of the country.
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga explained that the new jet is not the personal property of President Tinubu but rather a valuable asset of the Nigerian people.
Onanuga emphasized that the refurbished jet replaces the 19-year-old Boeing B737-700 purchased during former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration.
Onanuga said, “The president did not buy a new jet; what he has is a refurbished jet – it has been used by somebody else before he got it but it is a much newer model than the one President Buhari used.
“The one President Buhari used was bought by President Obasanjo some 20 years ago.
“There was a time the President went to Saudi Arabia, that plane developed some problems and the President had to leave with a chartered jet to The Netherlands.”