President Bola Tinubu departed Abuja to Borno, Bauchi, and Lagos on Saturday in a 20-year-old Boeing 737 Business Jet that had been listed for sale in July but was delisted months later due to minimal buyer interest and lowball offers.
Earlier, the Borno State Police Command claimed it had sent tactical teams, surveillance squads, and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit operatives to guarantee appropriate security in the state ahead of the President’s arrival.
Tinubu left Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport at 11:45 a.m. to begin a multi-state working visit and holiday trip that will include the inauguration of projects in Maiduguri, a condolence visit to the late Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi’s family in Bauchi, and a Yuletide celebration in Lagos.
The President’s use of the Obasanjo-era fighter (tail number 5N-FGT) verified the aircraft’s unexpected return to active service after a failed sale attempt earlier this year.
The Federal Government removed it from the worldwide sales platform run by US marketing firm JetHQ in early December, after months of failed attempts to sell the old aircraft.
The 20-year-old BBJ, purchased in 2005 for $43 million during President Olusegun Obasanjo‘s term, served numerous administrations until August 2024, when the Tinubu administration received delivery of a rebuilt Airbus A330-200.
It was first put up for sale in July 2025 as part of the Tinubu administration’s cost-cutting efforts. That month, the jet carried the late former President Muhammadu Buhari’s remains from London to Daura for burial.
Senior presidency officials confirmed that the jet was delisted after prospective buyers offered prices as low as $10 million, far below government expectations for the aircraft, which was partially refurbished and subjected to major C1-C2 inspections at AMAC Aerospace in Basel, Switzerland, in July 2024.
According to a statement released on Friday night by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the President’s first stop will be Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, where he will inaugurate several projects carried out by Governor Babagana Zulum’s administration in collaboration with the Federal Government.
Tinubu will also attend the wedding of Sadeeq Sheriff, the son of former Borno State Governor Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, and his bride, Hadiza Kam Salem.
From Maiduguri, the President will travel to Bauchi to express his condolences to the state government and the family of the late Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, a prominent Muslim cleric and leader of the Tijjaniyya Muslim Brotherhood who died on November 27 at the age of 101.
Following the condolence visit, Tinubu will travel to Lagos to celebrate the Christmas and New Year vacations.
He is due to be the Guest of Honour during the Eyo Festival on December 27 in Tafawa Balewa Square.
The festival will celebrate important figures such as the President’s late mother, Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, as well as former Lagos State Governors Alhaji Lateef Jakande and Chief Michael Otedola.
