At least N19.43bn was spent on the maintenance and operations of the Presidential Air Fleet from July 2023 to September 2024, The PUNCH learnt.
Checks by our correspondent on GovSpend, a civic tech platform that tracks and analyses the Federal Government’s spending, showed that for 2024, the payouts amounted to N13.55bn, representing 66 per cent of the allocations for the fleet in the 2024 fiscal year.
Most disbursements were labelled ‘Forex Transit Funds,’ typically funds allocated for foreign exchange requirements to facilitate international transactions and engagements.
In the context of the Presidential Air Fleet, such funds are used to cover expenses related to operations outside the country, including fuel purchases, maintenance or services in foreign currencies.
“When aircraft on the fleet are abroad, payments are often made in U.S. dollars or another foreign currency to ensure uninterrupted operations,” a government official explained.
Source: Punch Newspaper
