Ex-gov, others jostle to buy Amcon’s N4bn jet

A former military governor, two eminent Nigerians from the North and a chartered aircraft company have lined up to buy a N4bn ($27m) brand new private jet, which the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria has put up for sale, according to findings by our correspondent on Sunday.

AMCON had, through newspaper advertorials last week, put the Canadian-made Bombardier Challenger 605 private jet for sale.

The corporation was said to be insisting on selling the luxury plane for $31m, while the former governor  had reportedly offered $25m.

The chartered aircraft company with a base at the Lagos airport is willing to pay $24m, but on the condition that the payment will be made in instalments for a period of about three years, according to sources close to the transaction.

The exact amounts the two prospective buyers from the North are offering are not known, but they were also said to have offered below AMCON’s projected price.

According to aircraftcompare.com, a prototype of the Bombardier 605 private jet costs $27m (about N4.18bn).

The sources said AMCON might sell the aircraft for this amount, but the bad debts manager was giving consideration to the $4m the original buyer (one of its debtors) had deposited as down payment for the jet before it took over its purchase.

Unconfirmed sources said the plane was initially meant to be acquired by an individual, who happened to be one of those that AMCON took over their debts from the banks.

According to the sources, since AMCON did not want to lose the $4m the debtor had deposited to the manufacturers of the aircraft, the bad debt manager chose to pay up the balance and then sell the plane to recover the entire money.

The Head, Corporate Communications, AMCON, Mr. Kayode Lambo, confirmed that some people had shown interest in buying the jet, but did not give the details of the prospective buyers.

Lambo, however, claimed that the jet did not belong to any of its debtors.

“The plane belongs to AMCON and now we have decided to sell it off. It is an investment,” he said.

There have been  speculations that the aircraft was confiscated from oil mogul, Mr. Femi Otedola, following a settlement of transfer of assets he made as a result of his alleged indebtedness to AMCON.

There have also been speculations that the plane might have been taken over from Capital Oil and Gas Industries’ Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah, over an alleged N48.014bn debt.

However, the AMCON spokesman described all the speculations as rumours.

AMCON had, in another advertorial, announced the takeover of Ubah’s Capital Oil and Gas over his alleged indebtedness.