Presidential jet still unsold four months after listing

The Presidential Boeing 737-700 Business Jet, listed for sale by the Nigerian government in July 2025, remains unsold nearly four months after it was uploaded on an international aircraft sales platform.

This was confirmed through email exchanges between our correspondent and the marketing firm handling the listing, JetHQ, based in the United States.

In response to an inquiry, the company’s Market Research Assistant, Marinell Nuevo, confirmed that the aircraft “remains available.”

However, she referred further correspondence to the firm’s Market Research Manager, Ms Laurie Barringer, who declined to provide additional information on the sale.

“We do not provide this kind of information to anyone but the direct owner of the aircraft. This is considered proprietary information. I hope you can understand. The only data that we can provide you is that the aircraft remains available for sale,” Barringer stated in her reply.

A follow-up message demanding accountability, stating that the jet was bought and maintained with taxpayers’ money, has yet to be responded to as of press time.

The aircraft, a Boeing 737-700 Business Jet, is being managed by AMAC Aerospace, a Switzerland-based company specialising in maintenance and aircraft sales.

According to details on the listing, the aircraft has undergone partial refurbishment and multiple inspections at AMAC’s Basel facility in July 2024 — including full refurbishment of the first-class seats, replacement of cabin carpets, and completion of major C1–C2 inspections.

The listing describes the aircraft as “one owner since new, always hangared,” with a 33-passenger configuration and eight crew members, totalling 41 seats.

According to data from aircraftcostcalculator.com, a website that provides aircraft valuation estimates, a pre-owned Boeing 737 BBJ has an average market value of $56m, depending on its specifications and maintenance history.

 “Depending on numerous factors, the average price for a pre-owned Boeing BBJ is $56,000,000. A $28,000,000 loan over 120 months, including $116,667 per month in interest, equates to a $1,404,024 per, period payment. Based on 450 annual owner – operated hours and $6 – per, GAL fuel cost, the Boeing BBJ has total variable costs of $3,900,915, total fixed costs of $1,301,481, and an annual budget of $5,202,396. This breaks down to $11,561 per hour,” it stated.

The operational cost for such a jet averages about $11,561 per flight hour, with an estimated annual ownership cost exceeding $5.2 million, including fuel, maintenance, and crew expenses.

The PUNCH had reported that the aircraft was originally purchased in 2005 for $43m under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Since then, it has been part of the Presidential Air Fleet.

In July 2025, the President Bola Tinubu administration decided to put the aircraft up for sale as part of a broader cost-cutting and fleet rationalisation effort, amid rising public scrutiny over government expenditure and the maintenance cost of multiple presidential aircraft.

Four months later, however, the sale has not been finalised — a situation that raises questions about global market interest, pricing, and the ongoing maintenance cost of the aircraft bought and maintained with taxpayers’ money. (Punch)