Trump plans to move ahead with aircraft sale to Nigeria

-

US President Donald Trump’s administration is reportedly moving forward with plans to sell up to a dozen aircraft to Nigeria’s air force for the fight against the extremist group, Boko Haram. According to The Globe and Mail, Canada, sources informed the paper on Monday, that the Trump administration will go ahead with the deal that could be worth up to $600 million. 
The Super Tucano A-29 aircraft, an agile, propeller-driven plane with reconnaissance and surveillance as well as attack capabilities, is made by Brazil’s Embraer. A second production line is in Florida, in a partnership between Embraer and privately held Sierra Nevada Corp of Sparks, Nevada. 

Former President Barack Obama’s administration originally agreed on the sale, but reportedly delayed it after  the Nigerian Air Force’s bombing of a refugee camp in January which killed 90 to 170 civilians.

The Trump administration wants to supply the aircraft to boost Nigeria’s efforts to fight Boko Haram and bolster hiring in the United States by defense firms.
“We’ve been told that the administration is going to go forward with that transaction,” a congressional aide said.
Formal notification of the deal has not yet been sent to Congress but will be done soon.

Trump has said he plans to go ahead with foreign defense sales delayed under Obama due to human rights concerns.

A senior Nigerian military source in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, confirmed that the sale would go ahead and said it would also involve training, surveillance and military intelligence “to support ... the ongoing insurgency war.” 

In March, the Trump administration informed Congress of its plans to pursue a $5 billion sale to Bahrain of Lockheed Martin F-16s and related equipment, which had been held up under Obama when Bahrain failed to meet human rights targets.

Reuters first reported the Obama administration’s plan to sell the Embraer aircraft to Nigeria in May 2016, as a vote of confidence in President Muhammadu Buhari’s drive to reform the military. The Super Tucano costs more than $10 million each and the price can go much higher depending on the configuration. It is powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT 6 engine. Trump’s plan to move ahead with the Nigerian sale was first reported on Monday by the Associated Press.

There are also questions in the US congress whether Nigeria will be able to pay the full $600 million for the aircraft, equipment, training and support. U.S. officials said Buhari raised frustration with delays in the sale in a phone call with Trump in February.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Actress Ini Edo opens up on her marriage after 3 years

-
Image
Nollwood actress, Ini Edo, has opened up on her marriage, saying she has no regret breaking up with her husband of six years.  Ini Edo got married to an American-based Nigerian businessman, Phillip in 2008. She walked out of the marriage in September, 2014, following accusations of domestic violence and cheating. Speaking on ‘Rubbing Minds’ a Channel Television programme, the actress cited irresolvable differences and incompatibility as the major reasons for the crash of her marriage.  Ini Edo said that closeness should have, may be, saved her marriage since her former husband was in America and she in Nigeria. According to her, “May be being together would have helped keep us together. Because it would enable us study and understand each other more. May be it would have helped but I’m not sure.” Asked if her estranged husband was comfortable with her kind of job, she said,  “He met me an actress and I believe he was okay with that. Actually he complained. My work ta...
Read More

Scarcity: Calabar Residents now bath with satchet water (Details)

-
Image
File photo It has been revealed that residents of Calabar, the capital of Cross River State have resorted to the use sachet water to take their bath following the acute water scarcity that has hit the metropolis. According to Punch Metro, residents in the Calabar-South and Calabar Municipality axis of the metropolis expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of water in the last two months. They lamented that the situation had forced them to resort to the use of sachet water. There are insinuations that the water situation was worsened by the kidnap of the state Commissioner for Water Resources, Mr. Gabriel Odu-Oji, who was released after the payment of N10.4m ransom to the kidnappers who held him for 31 days. A resident of Asari-Iso in Calabar Municipality, Mrs. Magdalene Okoi, said the situation was worrisome, adding that it has worsened the economic state of most homes because of the huge bills being incurred with the constant purchase of sachet water. “This ...
Read More