President Bola Tinubu has welcomed a proposal by Airbus to establish maintenance and hangar facilities in Nigeria as part of efforts to position the country as a regional aviation and aerospace hub.

Tinubu spoke on Thursday during a meeting with an Airbus delegation led by Thierry Cloutet, Head of Regional Business Growth for Africa and the Middle East, on the sidelines of the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali.

The President stressed Nigeria’s urgent need for modern helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to support security operations and national development priorities.

He also called for the accelerated delivery of three Apache helicopters already ordered by Nigeria, saying the country urgently requires attack helicopters to combat terrorism and insecurity.

Discussions at the meeting also covered Nigeria’s acquisition of Airbus C-295 aircraft, defence aviation cooperation, aircraft leasing arrangements and long-term aviation financing solutions for domestic airlines.

Tinubu further explored the possibility of establishing an aviation leasing company in Nigeria to improve financing access within the aviation sector.

Cloutet commended Tinubu’s economic reforms and reaffirmed Airbus’ interest in supporting Nigeria’s long-term aerospace development goals.

He also proposed a “360-degree engagement” model covering commercial aviation, military aircraft cooperation, maintenance infrastructure, sustainability initiatives, human capital development and satellite technology collaboration.