EXCLUSIVE: N150bn presidential jet returns from South Africa after refurbishment

Nigeria’s newly acquired N150bn presidential jet has been flown back to the country after months in South Africa, where it underwent a full livery change to the nation’s green and white colours.

The Airbus A330-200 was spotted at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Wednesday.

The aircraft is painted almost entirely white, with green-white-green stripes running the full length of its fuselage and an emblem of the Nigerian Air Force crest on the forward fuselage near the cockpit windows on both sides.

Both engine intakes were capped with bright red circular covers, signalling that the aircraft, at the time the photograph was taken, was not being prepared for immediate flight.

A self-contained airstair was also positioned at the forward left doorway, but no passengers were visible on it.

However, ground personnel were spotted at the front of the wing and slightly behind the nose gear.

A presidency official, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the press, confirmed the arrival, saying, “Yes, they have returned the aircraft after the painting and minor touch-ups to the inside.”

He added that the jet would resume presidential duties “after routine acceptance checks” by the Nigerian Air Force’s Presidential Air Fleet.

The official did not say when next the aircraft would fly the President. However, footage shared by the State House on Friday afternoon showed President Tinubu boarding the aircraft for his official visit to Kano State.

He is also expected in Ogun State in the coming days to pay condolence visits to the family of the late Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, who died on Sunday, July 13, 2025, at the age of 91. The revered monarch reigned for 65 years.

In May 2025, The PUNCH reported that the jet had been ferried to South Africa for “refitting and repainting,” barely nine months after President Bola Tinubu’s administration took delivery of the 15-year-old wide-body from a European leasing firm in August 2024.

At the time, it had been out of operation for about three months.

Since February 2025, the President has been using a San Marino–registered BBJ (REG: T7-NAS) for his foreign and local trips.

Sources who spoke to our correspondent at the time confirmed that the primary aircraft had been flown to South Africa to change its livery to reflect the office of the President.

“The last I heard is that they took it abroad, I think to South Africa, to change the body design. You know it doesn’t have the green-white-green,” one source said, asking to remain anonymous.

“It’s not only the body paint. I learned they are doing some refurbishment on it,” a second official stated.

Another official said the aircraft’s interim commercial colours had to be stripped and replaced with Nigeria’s official VIP livery before it could operate as call-sign Eagle One.

Registered in Nigeria as 5N-FGA and operated by the Air Force’s 001 Squadron, the twin-aisle Airbus is fitted with a master bedroom, shower, conference room and secure communications suite.

The Airbus A330 was purchased for $100m (N150bn) through the service-wide votes, the Federal Government later disclosed.

The move drew harsh criticism from some sections of the National Assembly, the opposition, and the citizenry.

The 15-year-old plane, an ACJ330-200, VP-CAC (MSN 1053), is “spacious and furnished with state-of-the-art avionics, customised interior and communications system,” Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, said, adding, “It will save Nigeria huge maintenance and fuel costs, running into millions of dollars yearly.”

Aviation analysts say its 13-hour range allows non-stop flights from Abuja to New York or Beijing, eliminating costly fuel stops that plagued the older Boeing 737 Business Jet used by the late former President Muhammadu Buhari.

However, officials contacted for this story did not disclose the cost of the repaint, with one saying only that it was “part of the original acquisition contract.”

However, a full exterior repaint of a wide-body like the Airbus A330 typically costs between $190,000 and $320,000, according to recent rate cards from Lufthansa Technik, International Aerospace Coatings, and South Africa’s SAA Technical.

They quote $8–$10 per square foot for strip-and-paint work on an A330’s roughly 2,323 square metres of skin, a price range aircraft manufacturers use when budgeting end-of-line livery changes.

An Airbus A330 would need about 250–300 litres of high-solids polyurethane topcoat.

A 2023 survey by Simple Flying and Aviation Week put the “standard two-colour wide-body respray” at $175,000–$200,000, rising only when multi-colour wraps are required.

However, the Nigerian colours (an all-white fuselage, a narrow green cheat line, and a pair of national crests on both sides of the tail and the Air Force crest near the cockpit) may require low-graphic work and ultimately put the costs at the lower end of the range.

The new Airbus A330 is one of several aircraft currently on the Presidential Air Fleet, arguably one of Africa’s largest, with around 11 aircraft of various makes and models.

Until early July, it included the 20-year-old B737-700 Business Jet acquired in 2005 for $43m during former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s tenure.

Details obtained from US-based aircraft listing site The Controller say the aircraft is now on sale in Switzerland.

The aircraft was listed by JetHQ, a U.S.–based business-aviation brokerage and consulting firm that buys, sells, and leases business jets for clients worldwide.

JetHQ said the plane had undergone inspections and maintenance in preparation for sale.

At the time of filing this report, however, the company had not responded to inquiries by our correspondent about the asking price. An email sent to the company’s VP of Marketing, RJ Miller, is still awaiting a reply.

Other aircraft on the presidential fixed-wing fleet include a 13-year-old Gulfstream Aerospace G550, Gulfstream G500, two Falcon 7Xs, a Hawker 4000, and a Challenger 605.

Three of the seven fixed-wings are reportedly unserviceable.

The rotor-wing fleet includes two Agusta 139s and two Agusta 101s, all operated by the Nigerian Air Force but supervised by the Office of the National Security Adviser.

Both the Buhari and Tinubu administrations had earlier pledged to streamline the PAF for cost-efficiency.

Special Report: THE PUNCH