The Presidency has hinted that the long-awaited super Tucano jets will land on the shores of the country from the United States of America latest by July 2021.
The Presidential Spokesperson, Mallam Garba Shehu made the disclosure yesterday saying other aircraft will follow shortly.
Contained in his official Twitter handle, Garba Shehu added that 14 Nigerian pilots are already undergoing training in Georgia ahead of the delivery signaling terrorist should get ready to be crushed into oblivion.
The statement reads, “The Super Tucanos came off the production line in Jacksonville Florida, and are now being equipped and flight tested. Nigerian pilots and maintenance personnel are training on these planes. Currently, the construction is ongoing, which will house the aircraft,”.
Shehu disclosed, “At present, five Nigerian Super Tucanos are at Moody AFB in Georgia for pilot and maintainer training. The two companies released images of the sixth aircraft, which also will be flown to Moody, in a jungle camouflage scheme.”
The contractor, Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) was quoted to have said, Nigerian air force pilots will train in the aircraft before their delivery.
In 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the sum of $496 million for the procurement of the aircraft to boost Nigeria’s war against terror.
The deal signed with the United States government would include supplying the Nigerian armed forces with modern art-facility of ammunition, training, and maintenance of the said super jets.
The deal sometimes back was halted by the Barack Obama administration accusing Nigerian security forces of human rights abuses.
However, shortly after the Obama administration, Nigeria resumes negotiation with President Donald Trump who overturns the Obama embargo.
The National Security Adviser (NSA) had last week raised the alarm that funds allocated for the purchase of armament for the fight against Boko Haram were missing.
Although Monguno did not accuse the immediate past service chiefs of misappropriating the funds, he said the money might have been used in other ways unknown to anybody at present.
In his statement, “The president has done his best by ensuring that he released exorbitant funds for the procurement of weapons which are yet to be procured, they are not there. Now the president has employed new hands that might come with new ideas. I am not saying that those that have retired have stolen the funds, no. But the funds might have been used in other ways unknown to anybody at present.”
