Nigeria’s Presidential Air Fleet received at least ₦4.24bn in disbursements between June and December 2025, according to a report by Punch Newspapers, citing figures published on the GovSpend civic spending platform.
The report said the payments were made through the Presidential Air Fleet naira transit account managed by the State House, with eight separate transactions recorded across June, July and December 2025.
The largest share of the spending came in July, when four payments totalling ₦2.43bn were processed within one week. These included ₦430m on July 24, ₦1.28bn on July 25, ₦92m on July 29 and ₦626m on July 31. An earlier ₦1.285bn was disbursed on June 12.
Three further payments followed in December, including ₦9m on December 18, listed as forex transit funds, as well as ₦343.9m and ₦90.9m on December 30 and 31 respectively.
Punch noted that four of the transactions had no description beyond “None”, while most others were categorised as forex transit funds, commonly used to meet overseas operational expenses such as aircraft maintenance, refuelling and technical services.
The latest figure adds to a wider rise in presidential aviation costs since Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office. The fleet reportedly spent ₦26.38bn between July 2023 and December 2024, including ₦14.15bn in 2024 alone.
Budget allocations for the fleet stood at ₦17.32bn in 2025 before dropping to ₦14.70bn in 2026, largely because of lower capital expenditure. However, engine overhaul projects across the fleet still accounted for ₦19.27bn over three years, from 2024 to 2026.
Aviation analyst Olumide Ohunayo told Punch the increase was driven by the weakening naira, ageing aircraft and rising insurance costs due to insecurity.
He said crew training, spare parts and engineering services are mostly paid for in dollars, while older aircraft require more intensive maintenance.
The report recalled that in April 2024, Tinubu had to switch to a private jet during an official trip to Saudi Arabia after the state-owned Gulfstream G550 developed a fault in the Netherlands.
Following that incident, Nigeria acquired an Airbus ACJ330-200 for $100m in August 2024 to replace the presidential Boeing 737 Business Jet.
The current fixed-wing fleet includes the Airbus ACJ330-200, two Gulfstreams, two Falcon 7Xs, a Hawker 4000 and a Challenger 605. Three of those aircraft are reported to be unserviceable.
Security expert John Ojikutu said the amount spent was reasonable given costs linked to foreign repairs, fuel, crew logistics and accommodation.
The Presidency did not respond to Punch’s request for clarification on the specific transactions.
