Private jet owners drop to 36 as recession takes over Nigeria

- From a total of 67 during the administration of Goodluck Jonathan, the number of private jets in the country has dropped to 31

- Owners of many of the private jets have reportedly sold them out while others have returned the jets to their original owners abroad

About 50 percent of private jet owners in Nigeria have either sold out their private jets or returned them to their original owners abroad as the country’s recession digs deep into citizens’ lifestyles and pockets, according to a report by Daily Trust.

Many of the private jets are reportedly owned by men of God.

The report said the private jets were either sold out or returned between 2015 and 2016 adding that not less than 31 have been de-registered by the authorities.

As a result of the recession, many of the former owners of private jets are finding it extremely difficult maintaining them as it is believed the amount now spent on maintenance has doubled.

The report said it gathered the latest information from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on Thursday, January 5.

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The new information shows that there are 36 private jets currently registered in the country, While 18 of them are state-owned, the other 18 are owned by individuals and corporate companies.

This is against previous figures which show that the country had 67 private jets before Buhari became president in 2015.

“Of course you know there is recession and it is much more expensive now to maintain a private jet,” the report quoted a source as saying.

During the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, he had argued that Nigeria cannot be categorized as a poor country owing to the number of people who own private jets.

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“If you talk about ownership of private jets, Nigeria will be among the first 10 countries, yet they are saying that Nigeria is among the five poorest countries,” he had said on May 1, 2014 during the Workers’ Day rally at the Eagle Square, Abuja.

Another source hinted that the cost of maintenance, fueling and others have risen beyond the reach of some of the acclaimed ‘big men’.

One of the sources quoted also disclosed that the rate of chattering of private jets has dropped.

“Unlike sometimes when this place was very busy, the traffic movement has reduced drastically, maybe by 50 per cent,” he said.

The report quoted a pilot as saying that an average sum of $5000 (about N2.5 million at N490/$) would be needed per hour to maintain a private jet.

He said: “It is a lot of money to own a private jet. Like if you have like Diamond 3 or 4, you need an operating cost of about 5000 dollars per hour. Diamond or D5, you need about 8000.

“You make arrangement for fuelling as well. In terms of maintenance of the aircraft, you make arrangement with an approved maintenance organization (AMO).

“You have to prove you have an AMO, capacity to maintain the aircraft. You need qualified pilots that can fly it, authorized and approved by the NCAA.”

A professional in the aviation industry noted: “A lot of people started taking their jets outside the country when President Buhari won the election, some of them couldn’t maintain it because there is no more free money to steal and maintain them.

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“Some of them sent the aircraft to the owners, some of them sold the aircraft and some of them took it outside the country because these aircraft are not registered in Nigeria.”

Source: Legit.ng