Notwithstanding the current economic recession in the country, document obtained exclusively from the Presidency by Saturday Punch has revealed that the Federal Government has spent the sum of N5bn on the 10-aicraft Presidential Air Fleet in the last 15 months.
According to the document, the Presidency put the amount of money so far released for the Presidential Air Fleet since the inception of the current administration in May 2015 till date in the region of N5bn.
The breakdown of the sum showed that N2.3bn was released for PAF by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation between May and November 2015. That figure included releases for personnel costs, overheads and capital expenditures; out of the N5.19bn appropriated for PAF in the 2015 budget. Of the sum, the Presidency said N99.715m was spent on aircraft maintenance, spares and subscription services.
The sum of N98.5m was also spent on operations; N165.373m on training and N85.5m on personnel medicals and overheads. During the period, the document claimed that PAF spent N1.350bn to settle outstanding liabilities carried over from 2014 while N500m was refunded to the NSA for financial support rendered for the maintenance of the Fleet prior to release of funds.
According to findings from aviation experts, however, the Federal Government may have spent about N19.9bn on the 10-aircraft PAF in the last 15 months of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.