The Federal Executive Council on Wednesday approved a contract for the purchase of five units of fairly used Sups Puma SA 330 SM helicopters from France for the Nigerian Army.

The €68.6m ,


http://www.punchontheweb.com/Artic.aspx?theartic=Art2009112615481085

very terrible

FG to Buy 5 Surveillance Helicopters for N’Delta


•Muhtar explains purchase of four new presidential aircraft
From George Oji in Abuja, 11.26.2009

The Federal Government yesterday approved the sum of €68.6 million for the purchase of five helicopters for the aerial surveillance and reconnaissance of the Niger Delta region. The helicopters would also be used for air support for Nigerian troops in peace-keeping operations. Information and Communications Minister, Professor Dora Akunyili, who disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents at the end of yesterday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, stated that the five fairly used Supa Puma helicopters are to be purchased from France on “government-to-government” basis. The minister further disclosed the council approved contract for the procurement of a fast patrol craft for the Nigerian Navy to facilitate effective patrol of the Nigerian maritime borders and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The contract is for an additional one upgraded 17m Manta, MK 111 ASD Fast Patrol Craft in the sum of $8.8million. Meanwhile, Finance Mini-ster, Dr. Mansur Muhtar, has explained the proposed purchase of additional four aircraft for the presidential air fleet, noting that government’s action was part of phased replacement of aged aircrafts in the fleet. The four aircraft are estimated to cost the Federal Government $210 million. There are currently eight aircraft in the presidential air fleet and some of them are as old as 18 years. Muhtar also explained that contrary to public perception, they are not for the President’s personal use but for other top serving Federal Government officials, including the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives. The minister, who was speaking at the end of yesterday’s FEC meeting said: “Well, we have to do this as part of a phased replacement of the aircraft in the Presidential Air Fleet. Essentially, what is happening is that we have received a proposal in the course of the budget discussion, in fact, as part of ongoing discussion which started last year. As far back as last year, there were plans to replace some of the planes that have really been costing so much to maintain. “You know as old the planes are, it has become quite prohibitive to maintain. So you have to weigh in relative term whether it is not more cost effective and efficient to consider buying a new fleet of aircraft or to continue to maintain them. It is in this context that we decided to phase these over a period. “So part of this money some deposit was made in 2009 just to secure a slot, a small amount of N100 million was made to secure a slot because you have to order these aircraft in advance. Because last year we could not make adequate budgetary provision but this small amount was paid so that we will be able to have two aircrafts delivered in 2010 and the remaining two will be delivered in 2011 and 2012 as we continue to make budgetary allocation. So we are concerned over our tight budgeting systems so we have to spread this over a period of three years. “I have to clarify also that these aircraft are not going to be used by the President but what is happening basically is that it is being operated as a fleet and it is being deployed appropriately to serve other purposes, especially serving principal officers of the Federal Government including, as the case may be, the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. So we need to have that operational flexibility to be able to deploy these aircrafts. That is now be coordinated by the National Security Adviser; and that explains why it is coming under the Presidential fleet, under their vote.” Muhtar also said the Federal Government had given pass mark to 11 ministries for recording about 80 per cent performance level in their implementation of the 2009 budget. He further disclosed that the remaining 20 ministries recorded an average of 50 per cent. Said Muhtar: “I want to set the record and put things in perspective in terms of the progress that has been recorded, even as at the end of October we talked about 50 per cent utilisation rate, but to put things in context if we look at ministries, departments and agencies we have at least 11 ministries that have scored between 70-80 per cent in terms of execution. “We are making a lot of progress and I think also in looking at budget execution we should look at both recurrent and capital, and in recurrent we have made considerable progress 80 or 90 per cent in some instances. For health, education and social sector, most of the spending that is geared towards improving people’s lives is in recurrent spending in terms of supplies to schools, medical supplies, salaries to teachers etc, and we are doing very well in these areas”. The minister further disclosed that overall, “to put things in perspective we have not done badly and I think the budget proposal that has been tabled before the national assembly will enable us to deploy resources to areas where projects are not moving to other areas where we could make a difference. We are also very delighted that the national assembly has indicated its willingness to allow capital in, so the spending could continue through to the first quarter. We are delighted with the decision and we are very supportive of this as it will allow us to deliver on the promise that this administration has made. “We did a bit of a challenge in respect to the power sector because of the delays associated with the rainy season but now things have picked up considerably as you can see from the reports. Another area where we had a bit of a challenge was in power, but here it’s contributed by the fact we have a lot of spending in the area that is funded through the international integrated power project. “The delays were experienced because of the Power Holding, the distribution companies, decentralisation challenges and all of this has now been addressed by a lots L.Cs that have been opened to allow work to progress. “We are not relenting on our effort. We are taking additional measures to strengthen performance and obviously as indicated in the past, every month we dedicate a session of the council to consideration of budget performance across the different ministries and that has helped put everyone on their toes.”

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=160764

SO?

I thought some idiots said the aircrafts were for the President?

Poster, what are you questioning here?

They should be buying brand new aircraft
Tokunbo aircraft - its disgraceful

realy? YOU WILL BE THE FIRST TO SHOUT IF THEY BOUGHT NEW AIRCRAFTS.

realy? YOU WILL BE THE FIRST TO SHOUT IF THEY BOUGHT NEW AIRCRAFTS.

its OK, let them buy tokunbo
The aircraft engine comes from Albania , plane wings from Yugoslavia , repair engineers - Russia, etc. At the end of the day what you ll get is not an aircraft but a flying coffin.

If you buy Tokunbo aircraft, you ll get tokunbo service.

It's not 'tokunbo'. While it's not brand new, buying used millitary hardware is not so out of place.
Do you have any idea how much it could cost to purchase a brand new unit? It's far more cost effective to buy well maintained used craft with good service history.

bilymuse:



its OK, let them buy tokunbo
The aircraft engine comes from Albania , plane wings from Yugoslavia , repair engineers - Russia, etc. At the end of the day what you ll get is not an aircraft but a flying coffin.

If you buy Tokunbo aircraft, you ll get tokunbo service.

Don't be an silly. The aircraft are being purchased from the French Government and it's almost a given that contracts for parts and equipment are already in place.
Without any access to the service record of the helicopters, calling them 'flying coffins' is pretty much FUD.

texazzpete:

It's not 'tokunbo'. While it's not brand new, buying used millitary hardware is not so out of place.
Do you have any idea how much it could cost to purchase a brand new unit? It's far more cost effective to buy well maintained used craft with good service history.

Don't be an silly. The aircraft are being purchased from the French Government and it's almost a given that contracts for parts and equipment are already in place.
Without any access to the service record of the helicopters, calling them 'flying coffins' is pretty much FUD.

While buying used aircraft is not so out of place, I would rather they buy NEW aircraft. A country such as ours should be investing in proper and up-to-date equipment and not buying what other countries have used and want to get rid off - no matter how well maintained they are. Used millitary equipment should be left to countries like Togo and Malawi and to warlords in countries in Sudan and Congo.
If we are continually vying for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security council, we should have an up to date arsenal consisting of the latest technology in Warfare. I hate the thought of another country using something and 'dumping' it for us to use.

^^^^

And if they buy them new, you will be the first to run to nairaland to say that government is wasting tax payer's money to buy aircrafts.

Paroh_frey:

^^^^

And if they buy them new, you will be the first to run to nairaland to say that government is wasting tax payer's money to buy aircrafts.

Why will i do that? Have they not wasted enough of our money on silly and meaningless projects? Have they not mismanaged enough funds already? Have they not 'chopped' enough of our money?

I have always hated the 'buying second hand goods' mentality, regardless of how new they may look. Under normal circumstances, we in Nigeria should be well above that mentality. During the earlier years of our fathers, everthing they bought was new. It is these days that we have been reduced to buying second hand/tokunbo goods.

fairly used equals peice of shit i have to stay with that new new

i dont see anything bad in buying fairly used helicopter inasmuch as they are in good shape, afterall many of us buy tokunbo cars that are still in very good shape, and would have lasted longer if not for the bad roads we have in nigeria.

besides, many hercules aircraft being used by US have been in existence since the 1950's, and that has not dettered US from using them, check out the ages of the space ships too,

i dont see anything bad in buying fairly used helicopter inasmuch as they are in good shape, afterall many of us buy tokunbo cars that are still in very good shape, and would have lasted longer if not for the bad roads we have in nigeria.besides, many hercules aircraft being used by US have been in existence since the 1950's, and that has not dettered US from using them, check out the ages of the space ships too,

Technology moves very fast; flying object is a piece of delicate equipment that moves with tech. Every developed country has a rigorous safety policy. Some of the reasons they would sell their used aircraft: its an old piece of shit and has been decommission, new technology has made it a legacy, it has problem, it not airworthy and does not conform to a tough safety regime. Nobody would sell his aircraft that is working perfectly, for cheap.

In abroad, even taxi drivers buy brand new cars and their business is design to pay for itself and make profit. If well design and maintain, Nigeria could buy a brand new aircraft that would pay for itself and even make profit. Poverty and corruption have turn Nigerians into psychotics. Last time some government officials were accused of buying second hand cloths for flood victims.

Nigeria has no safety policy, no maintenance culture, nothing. My sympathy is with those poor folk who will ride in that flying coffins

if they buy them new, the topic would have generated so much discuss on nairaland, with everyone claiming it is a waste of money- so, how can you be satisfied?

You guys should understand dat military aircraft do not get as much utilization as civil aircraft,so even western countries normally retrofit old machines with new tech too.

Oil account for over 90% of our earnings, investment in that area should be first class. The aircraft are needed for surveillance in Niger Delta, this is critical for safety and security. The people who make the decision knew they are not going to ride the aircraft.

Few years ago, our house of assembly awarded billions of Naira to themself - they bought brand new cars. None of them dare suggested a tokunbo.

These helicopters were first introduced in the late 70s. For it to be described as 'fairly used' is a bit of euphemism. Are they still in production cos if they are not, they are anything but fairly used.

[size=15pt]Call for all Super Puma helicopters to be groundedSara Dixon
Recommend? [/size]

UNION leaders have called for all North Sea Super Puma helicopters to be grounded after an accident report blamed a “catastrophic” gearbox failure for a crash that claimed the lives of 16 people.

Two crew and 14 passengers on board a Super Puma helicopter ferrying people to BP’s Miller platform off the Aberdeenshire coast died when it broke apart mid-flight.

A report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) found the helicopter’s main rotor detached from the aircraft, severing the helicopter’s tail, because of a faulty gearbox.

The Rail Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) has called for all Super Pumas with the same gearboxes to be grounded.

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Call for all Super Pumas to be grounded
Cost-cutting warnings days ahead of North Sea crash
Union leader Bob Crow also urged members who were worried about the safety of helicopters not to fly.

He said: “A full inspection should take place before our members are absolutely satisfied that these Super Pumas are safe to fly on the shores of Aberdeen.

“As far as we are concerned we are saying to our members, if you do not feel safe about going in these Puma helicopters then you should refuse to work on the grounds of health and safety.”

The accident report recommends the rotor gearbox of all craft of the same model are inspected and that the helicopter’s manufacturers, Eurocopter, carry out “additional inspections” of the rotor.

In the report, the AAIB says: “Examination of the wreckage indicates that the accident occurred following a catastrophic failure of the main rotor gearbox.

“This resulted in the detachment of the main rotor head from the helicopter and was rapidly followed by main rotor blade strikes on the pylon and tail boom, which became severed from the fuselage.”

BP has said it will not use the aircraft again until the safety checks were complete.

The Super Puma was operating a scheduled passenger flight when it crashed on April 1.

At 1.54pm the co-pilot made a routine call 12 seconds later one of the pilots issued a mayday call.

Air traffic controllers tried unsuccessfully to contact the aircraft, before asking the crew of another helicopter in the area to examine an area based on the Super Puma’s last radar position.

An eyewitness working on a supply vessel heard the helicopter and saw it come down before it hit the sea.

The bodies of all the victims have all been recovered, eight of them came from the north east of Scotland, seven from the rest of the UK, and one from Latvia.

A memorial service for those who died is to be held on Wednesday in Aberdeen.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6078035.ece