Trump to sell High-Tech Aircraft to Nigeria for $600 million

The Trump administration will move forward with the sale of high-tech aircraft to Nigeria for its campaign against Boko Haram, The Washington Post has reported, citing U.S. officials.

This will set in motion a deal with Nigeria that the Obama administration had planned to approve at the very end of Barack Obama’s presidency. The congress will receive a formal notification within weeks, setting in motion a deal with Nigeria

Nigeria will have to purchase up to 12 Embraer A-29 Super Tucano aircraft with sophisticated targeting gear for nearly $600 million, one of the officials said.

Though President Donald Trump has made clear his intention to approve the sale of the aircraft, the National Security Council is still working on the issue.

Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, has shown his support for the sale of said the A-29 deal to Nigeria as well as the sale of U.S.-made fighter jets to Bahrain that had been stripped of human rights caveats imposed by the Obama administration.

Once Congress is officially notified of the sale, lawmakers who want to derail it have 30 days to pass veto-proof legislation. That’s a high hurdle given Corker’s support.

Trump assured President Buhari of the readiness of U.S to cut a new deal in Trump’s first phone call with Buhari in February.