The Federal Government has allocated a cumulative sum of N10.61 billion for the overhaul of engines on the Gulfstream G550 aircraft assigned to Vice President Kashim Shettima over a three-year period, according to an analysis of appropriation bills from 2024 to 2026.
The aircraft, registered as 5N-FGW and operating under the call sign “Nigerian Air Force 2” when carrying the Vice President, received the highest single allocation among all engine overhaul projects in the Presidential Air Fleet.
It accounted for 55 per cent of the total N19.27 billion spent on engine maintenance across the fleet during the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
The funding for the engine overhaul project witnessed a dramatic escalation over the years. In the 2024 Appropriation Bill, the project was listed as “NEW” under code ERGP31206170 with an allocation of N1.24 billion. By 2025, its status changed to “ONGOING” and the amount surged to N5.51 billion — representing a 345 per cent increase — before moderating to N3.86 billion in the 2026 budget, still categorised as “ONGOING”.
The 13-year-old Gulfstream G550 has been plagued by recurring technical faults that have disrupted several of Vice President Shettima’s international engagements.
Notable incidents include the May 2024 mid-flight technical failure that forced the cancellation of Shettima’s trip to the US-Africa Business Summit in Dallas, Texas.
Less than a month earlier, an oxygen leak on the same aircraft compelled President Tinubu to charter a private jet for his journey to Saudi Arabia.
In October 2024, a foreign object strike during a stopover at JFK Airport in New York led to the cancellation of the Vice President’s participation in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit in Samoa.