Gateway Air Bombshell: Who Really Owns Abiodun’s Two CRJ-900 Jets?
…Aircraft records show leasing history involving AVIC Leasing, Quzhou Investment Group and ValueJet – Ogun says the jets are fully state-owned
Governor Dapo Abiodun’s administration is facing fresh questions over the ownership and acquisition of the two CRJ-900 aircraft operating under the Gateway Air brand, with aviation records raising questions about the chain of ownership, leasing and eventual acquisition of the aircraft by Ogun State.
The questions become particularly significant because the Ogun State Government has publicly maintained that the two aircraft are fully owned by the state, while ValueJet merely provides the operational expertise to run the flights. Governor Abiodun’s aide on New Media, Emmanuel Ojo, stated in April that the aircraft belonged entirely to Ogun State.
However, aviation records tell a more complicated story.
The first aircraft, 5N-CFA, is a Bombardier CRJ-900LR carrying manufacturer’s serial number 15312.
Aircraft-history records identify it as a former China Express Airlines aircraft, previously registered B-3363. Airfleets records show that it entered service with China Express Airlines in 2014 and was subsequently stored in July 2025 before appearing in Nigeria under the ValueJet/Gateway Air arrangement.
The second aircraft, 5N-CEY, is another CRJ-900LR, with manufacturer’s serial number 15285.
Aviation records likewise trace its earlier history to China Express Airlines, while the 2025 Africa Aviation Year Book specifically reported that 5N-CFA was leased from AVIC Leasing, while 5N-CEY was leased from Quzhou Investment Group, with both aircraft operating under the Gateway Air livery.
There is another detail that deserves attention.
Publicly available aircraft photography places 5N-CFA in China on October 1 and October 6, 2025, already identified as a Gateway Air aircraft.
Similarly, 5N-CEY was photographed in China on August 31, 2025 under its previous registration B-7762, and subsequently photographed as 5N-CEY in Gateway Air livery in October 2025.
By April 2026, Ogun State was publicly presenting the two aircraft as part of its newly launched state-owned Gateway Air operation.
President Bola Tinubu commissioned the Gateway International Airport and unveiled Gateway Air on April 4, 2026, with the two CRJ-900 aircraft forming the initial fleet.
That timeline creates a straightforward question for Governor Abiodun:
WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN THE LEASE RECORDS AND OGUN’S OWNERSHIP CLAIM?
There is nothing inherently improper about a government acquiring an aircraft that was previously leased by another company.
A state government can legitimately purchase an aircraft from an owner, acquire an existing lease, enter into a finance lease, or structure an acquisition through a special-purpose vehicle or operating partner but whichever structure Ogun used, there should be documents and that is precisely what taxpayers should be asking to see.
If Ogun State purchased the aircraft outright, who sold them to the state?
If the state assumed or acquired an existing lease, what was the assignment agreement?
If a third-party company acquired the aircraft on behalf of Ogun, what company was involved and under what mandate?
If ValueJet is only the operator, as the Ogun government says, what is the precise legal relationship between ValueJet, Gateway Air and the aircraft-owning entity?
Most importantly, HOW MUCH DID OGUN STATE PAY?
The public deserves to know the acquisition price or lease consideration, the date of the transaction, the source of funds, the contractual terms and the legal entity in whose name title to each aircraft is registered.
This is not an accusation that the aircraft are not owned by Ogun.
It is a demand that the government prove the ownership claim with documentary evidence because the government’s position is unequivocal.
Ogun says the aircraft are fully state-owned.
If that is the case, producing the acquisition documents should settle the matter.
THE VALUEJET QUESTION
There is also the issue of ValueJet.
Current aviation records identify the aircraft as Gateway Air, while ValueJet is listed as the operator. Flightradar24 currently identifies both 5N-CFA and 5N-CEY as Gateway Air aircraft operated by ValueJet.
That arrangement is consistent with the Ogun government’s explanation that the state owns the aircraft while ValueJet handles operations, but it makes the contractual relationship even more important.
What is the operating agreement?
What does ValueJet receive?
Who bears maintenance costs?
Who pays insurance?
Who carries residual-value risk?
Who receives the revenue?
Who is responsible for major repairs?
Who ultimately owns the aircraft if the arrangement terminates?
These are not trivial questions.
They go directly to the value of a public asset.
ABIODUN’S GOVERNMENT SHOULD OPEN THE FILE
Governor Abiodun has described Gateway Air as a state-owned airline and has continued to promote the project as part of Ogun’s aviation ambitions. As recently as September 2026, he described Gateway Air as a state-owned airline and said the state was exploring opportunities to use it for Hajj operations.
That makes transparency even more important.
The governor cannot simultaneously demand public confidence in a multimillion-dollar aviation project and expect taxpayers to be satisfied with ownership declarations alone.
Show the purchase agreement.
Show the lease agreement.
Show the title-transfer documents.
Show the acquisition price.
Show the payment records.
Show the operating agreement with ValueJet.
If Ogun bought the aircraft, Nigerians deserve to know from whom, for how much and with whose money.
If the aircraft were acquired through a lease or financing arrangement, citizens deserve to know the terms and liabilities attached to the deal.
If another entity legally owns the aircraft while Ogun merely controls or uses them, the government should say so plainly, because Gateway Air is not Governor Abiodun’s private airline.
It is being presented as an Ogun State-owned asset and once public ownership is claimed, the public has every right to ask for the paperwork behind that claim.
THE BALL IS NOW IN ABIODUN’S COURT
The aircraft are flying.
The Gateway Air brand is operational.
ValueJet is operating the jets.
Ogun says the state owns them.
The aviation records show a history involving former Chinese registrations, leasing companies and ValueJet.
What remains unclear from the public information currently available is the documentary bridge between those earlier leasing arrangements and Ogun State’s claimed ownership.
That is the gap Governor Abiodun’s government should close, not with political statements, not with accusations of political motivation, not with social-media arguments, but with documents.
For a government that repeatedly speaks about transparency, accountability and prudent management of public resources, this should be the easiest controversy to resolve.
Publish the papers, let Ogun people see who owns Gateway Air’s two CRJ-900s, let the figures speak for themselves..
Copy: TheCityPulseNews
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