PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has barred his wife and the members of his family from using the aircraft in the presidential fleet as part of an ongoing campaign to cut down of government spending at to arrest abuse of public facilities. 

Elected on a promise to fight graft in public life and combat the growing menace of nepotism and abuse of office, President Buhari has been cutting perks for officials. When he travels abroad, he uses a much smaller entourage than was previously the case and those not officially invited are made to pay their own flight costs and clear their hotel bills. 

Taking this campaign a step further, President Buhari has insisted that his wife Hadjiya Aisha Buhari and his children use commercial flights when travelling. Members of President Buhari's family will now use commercial flight, unless it becomes compelling for them to fly in a presidential aircraft. 

Earlier this month, the president made sure that when his wife and three children performed the lesser hajj to Mecca, they used Emirates Airlines to make the trip. It is believed that the president is worried about security reports on the high cost of maintaining the presidential aircraft and the abuse of the privilege by some highly-placed Nigerians. 

During the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, about N9.08bn (£29m) was spent yearly to maintain the 10 aircraft in the Presidential Air Fleet. Members of President Jonathan's family and his close associates regularly used the aircraft in the fleet for routine trips that could have been made using commercial flights. 

One presidency source said: “President Buhari has adopted a strict policy on the use of presidential aircraft in order to save cost. His wife and relations have been restricted from the use of the aircraft in the presidential fleet. 

“A situation where the aircraft were used anyhow by some friends and associates of the president during the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan can no longer be applicable in this dispensation. For example, the wife of the president, Hadjiya Aisha Buhari and three children travelled for the lesser hajj in Saudi Arabia on Emirates Airlines." 

He added that President Buhari is determined to ensure the judicious use of the presidential aircraft to save costs. In addition, President Buhari is also setting a new template for governance and may use commercial flights for some of his own trips. 

Another source added: “Do you know that it costs about N747m (£2.4m) to fuel the aircraft in the presidential fleet per annum. President Buhari said his administration cannot afford such a luxury. 

“US President, Barrack Obama uses only two Boeing jets and one helicopter, so Buhari is determined to cut costs. In any case, he lives an austere life and if he can ask his wife to fly a commercial jet, then other public officers must emulate his standard.” 

It was not yet clear if the president will sell some of the aircraft in the Presidential Air Fleet as being speculated. Nigeria's presidential fleet has more aircraft than most airlines in the country, second in size only to the nation's largest carrier Arik Air.