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President Bola Tinubu has welcomed Airbus’ proposal to establish aircraft maintenance and hangar facilities in Nigeria, describing it as a major step towards positioning the country as a regional aviation and aerospace hub.
Tinubu also renewed his call for faster delivery of military aircraft, saying Nigeria urgently needs more aviation assets to strengthen the fight against terrorism and insecurity.
The President spoke during a meeting with an Airbus delegation led by the company’s Head of Regional Business Growth for Africa and the Middle East, Thierry Cloutet, on the sidelines of the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda.
According to a statement issued by presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, discussions centred on deepening cooperation between Nigeria and the European aircraft manufacturer across commercial aviation, defence operations and aerospace development.
Tinubu said his administration was ready to expand engagement with Airbus, particularly in military aviation and technical support, stressing that security remains a top priority for his government.
“Nigeria needs attack helicopters urgently that can be used to confront and overwhelm terrorists. That is my priority now,” the President said, while calling for accelerated delivery of three Apache helicopters already ordered by the country.
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The meeting also reviewed Nigeria’s planned acquisition of the Airbus C-295 aircraft platform, financing options for aircraft procurement and broader defence aviation collaboration.
Both sides examined aircraft leasing models, export credit arrangements, long-term financing packages and sale-and-lease-back structures aimed at easing financial pressure on operators within Nigeria’s aviation industry.
Tinubu further raised the possibility of setting up an aviation leasing company in Nigeria to improve financing access for local airlines and create new opportunities across the aviation value chain.
Cloutet praised the Tinubu administration’s economic reforms and efforts to stabilise the aviation sector, while reaffirming Airbus’ interest in supporting Nigeria’s long-term aviation ambitions.
He proposed what he described as a “360-degree engagement” framework covering commercial aviation, military aircraft partnerships, maintenance infrastructure, sustainability programmes, operational hubs and skills development.
The proposal aligns with the Federal Government’s broader drive to modernise the aviation sector, build local technical capacity and strengthen Nigeria’s ambition to become a major aviation services centre in Africa.
