Nigeria operates the highest number of private jets on the African continent, with nearly 240 currently active in the country, Aviation and Aerospace Development Minister Festus Keyamo has revealed.
Keyamo made the disclosure during a visit to Bombardier Inc's Laurent Beaudoin Completion Centre in Montreal, Canada, where he led a delegation of notable Nigerian private jet operators to explore the possibility of establishing a Bombardier aircraft service centre in Nigeria.
"Nigeria officially has the highest number of private jets in Africa with nearly 240 presently operating within the country and so much foreign currency is repatriated weekly from the country for the maintenance of these aircraft," Keyamo wrote following the engagement.
The minister said a local Bombardier service centre would cut the cost of overseas maintenance, conserve foreign exchange, create skilled jobs and position Nigeria as a regional hub for business aviation.
Discussions with Bombardier officials covered the full range of support the proposed facility could provide for their aircraft operating in Nigeria and across the continent.
The private jet fleet has grown sharply, rising from around 100 in 2021 despite the country's economic difficulties, however, the sector is not without controversy.
Close to 70 per cent of the jets are foreign-registered, and many have been linked to illegal charter operations.
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A Ministerial Taskforce on illegal air charter operations set up by Keyamo has fingered high-net-worth individuals and foreign-registered aircraft as the primary culprits.
Industry players explained that foreign registration is often used to avoid local duties and levies.
Also, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has been at loggerheads with operators over import duties on the aircraft.
The Montreal visit rounded off Nigeria's strategic engagements with the world's four leading aircraft manufacturers, following earlier visits to Boeing, Airbus and Embraer.
The Nigerian delegation included Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Director-General Capt Chris Najomo, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) Managing Director Olubunmi Kuku, Nigeria's International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council Representative Engr Mahmoud Sani Ben-Tukur and other senior government officials.
During the visit, the delegation received briefings on aircraft manufacturing, maintenance support systems, pilot and technical training, digital technologies, aftermarket services and aircraft acquisition solutions.
The Federal Government said the engagement was expected to open new opportunities in fleet modernisation, Maintenance Repair and Overhaul, engineering support and aerospace technology transfer.
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