KEY POINTS
- JetHQ confirmed the presidential jet delisting without further details.
- The government has not clarified the status of the presidential jet delisting.
- The jet had recent upgrades but no reported buyer.
A US aviation brokerage has quietly removed Nigeria’s presidential Boeing 737-700 Business Jet from its sales catalogue.
The change appeared without notice. It raised fresh questions about the fate of the aircraft that the Nigerian government placed on the market last year as part of its cost-cutting drive.
Presidential jet delisting raises fresh uncertainty
JetHQ removed the listing in recent days. The page once carried photos, specifications and a general sale description. It has now vanished from public view. When contacted, JetHQ said it no longer lists the aircraft and directed all questions back to the Nigerian government.
Laurie Barringer, the firm’s Manager of Market Research, confirmed the delisting in an email. She said JetHQ is no longer handling the jet. She advised reporters to seek updates from the Nigerian authorities. Her short note marked the first formal sign that the deal may have shifted behind closed doors. The Nigerian government has yet to say what step came next.
Ismail Garba, the media aide to the National Security Adviser, said he would respond. He did not send any update after several days. His silence left the matter unresolved. The delisting deepened earlier concerns about the long delay in securing a buyer.
Confusion follows earlier confirmation of jet availability
The jet went on the market in July 2025. By October, it still had no buyer. At that point, email exchanges with JetHQ showed the aircraft remained up for sale. The firm confirmed its availability but kept other details out of reach. It said only the owner could access technical or commercial information.
According to Punch, Barringer said the firm would not disclose proprietary data. She explained that such details are limited to the aircraft’s direct owner. She repeated that the jet was available for purchase. That was the last public update before the sudden delisting surfaced.
Before it disappeared from the market, the aircraft had undergone a round of technical checks. Records showed it went through partial refurbishment in July 2024 at AMAC’s Basel facility. The work included fresh carpeting, first-class seat changes and major C1–C2 inspections. These upgrades often raise resale interest, but there was still no buyer after months on the market.
The Boeing 737 BBJ type often holds strong value. Aircraftcostcalculator.com lists the average market cost at about $56 million. Pricing varies by maintenance records and interior layout. Nigeria bought the jet in 2005 for $43 million under former President Olusegun Obasanjo. It has stayed in the Presidential Air Fleet since then.
The Tinubu administration said in July 2025 that it planned to sell the jet. Officials framed the move as part of a wider effort to cut spending and streamline the federal air fleet. Public pressure over luxury travel costs had grown by that point. Now the delisting has created new uncertainty around the process. The government has offered no fresh timeline.
