By Uche Mbah
The Nigerian Air Force has dismissed reports of reneging on the part of the American Air Force in the contractual agreement between the two countries for the supply of 12 A-29 Super Tucano aircraft is in jeopardy, saying that the Senate committee Chairman was quoted out of contest.
During the ongoing Budget Defence, the Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Airforce, Mike Nnachi, while briefing the senate appropriation Committee, said the American Government is reluctant to fulfill their own part of the contract due to “bad runway at the 407 Air Combat Training Group, Kainji.”
Nigeria had ordered for 12 A-29 Super Tucano aircraft to fight Boko Haram and other insurgents.
In his statement, Nnachi said that the American Government said the runway at Kainji cannot carry the sophisticated Aircraft, and that they may reconsider the terms of the contract. According to him, Nigeria “stood the risk of losing $493m paid to the United States for the purchase of the Super Tucano fighter jets due to the bad runway at Kainji.”
But reacting to the report, NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, in a statement in Abuja on Monday, said that six of the Aircraft have been produced.
In the statement titled, ‘A-29 Super Tucano aircraft projection on course for delivery as scheduled,’ Daramola said the jets are expected to land in Nigeria on schedule and in accordance with the terms of the contract.
“Currently, six of the expected 12 aircraft have been produced and are presently being employed for conversion training of six NAF pilots, who are in the USA, along with 26 NAF engineers, technicians and logisticians, who are also undergoing various trainings on the aircraft as part of the provisions of the contract”, he said.
He said that six of the expected 12 aircraft had already been produced and were presently being used to train six NAF pilots who are in the US.
“Another set of 35 personnel are also scheduled to join them early next year,” he added.
He explained that the 407 ACTG Kainji runway is about 40 years old, and has been in use long after the expiry period. It has been earmarked for resurfacing, he said.
