The United States of America has agreed to sell A29 Super Tucano Aircraft to Nigeria, according to the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Stuart Symington, to help Nigeria to completely defeat the Boko Haram Terrorists.
The Ambassador who presented the Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) to the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, at NAF Headquarters in Abuja, today, Wednesday, said that the LOA represents the official US Government offer to sell US defence articles and services to the Nigerian Government.
He said that the US government is making the offer because of its belief that peaceful existence in Nigeria is strategic to the security of the entire West African Sub-Region in particular and the entire world at large.
Ambassador Symington emphasized the commitment of the US Government to help Nigeria to also eliminate all forms of terrorism from its territory even as he said that the US Government believed that the capacity of the Nigerian Air Force could greatly be enhanced by the acquisition of the Super Tucano Aircraft.
According to him, the US Government would continue to support the NAF in its capacity-building efforts, including the timely supply of needed aircraft spares.
The US Ambassador also indicated the readiness of relevant US Government officials to work with NAF officials to facilitate the early delivery of the aircraft once payment had been made. In that regard, officials of both the US Government and the NAF would be meeting in early January 2018 to jointly study the LOA prior to subsequent endorsements by both parties.
Receiving the LOA, the Chief of Air Staff expressed the appreciation to the US Government for its steady support towards sustaining NAF air operations. He also praised the personal commitment of the US Ambassador to ensuring that the Super Tucano Aircraft deal became a reality.
Air Marshal Abubakar agreed with Ambassador Symington that the wellbeing of Nigeria was closely linked to those of other African countries, and indeed the entire world, as terrorism is a global phenomenon, which had to be confronted by all stakeholders. He then reassured the US Ambassador of the commitment of the NAF to the stipulated deadlines in the LOA. Furthermore, the CAS assured the US Ambassador that the NAF would ensure the readiness of proposed home base of the Super Tucano Aircraft in Nigeria before the aircraft’s delivery. He further said that the NAF would nominate and prepare all the pilots and maintenance crew to be trained on the Super Tucano Aircraft, ahead of their training in the US.
It is expected that the LOA would have been signed and necessary payments made before 20 February 2018 to ensure the commencement of production of the NAF’s Super Tucano Aircraft. It would be recalled that the US State Department had earlier approved the sale of 12 x A29 Super Tucano Aircraft to the NAF to further aid the nation’s counterinsurgency campaign.[myad]
