- … seek prosecution of those behind Nigeria Air take-off
- It was a chartered flight – MD
Nigerians have lambasted the immediate past Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, over what they termed a last-minute desperation capable of ridiculing the nation.
Those who spoke with The Point noted that the hurried unveiling of the national carrier at the tail end of the former administration was suspicious, adding that they were not surprised that the House of Representatives was already opening a can of worms in that direction.
They called for the immediate investigation of the activities around the Nigeria Air project and the purported take-off by the President Bola Tinubu administration and the prosecution of anyone found to have misappropriated Nigeria’s resources.
The House of Representatives Committee on Aviation had, on Tuesday, faulted the process leading to the unveiling of Nigeria’s national carrier, Nigeria Air.
Speaking at an investigative hearing on Tuesday with Airline Operators of Nigeria and representatives of the Ministry of Aviation, the Chairman of the committee, Nnaji Nnolim, alleged that the unveiling of Nigeria Air was a fraud.
The committee also passed a resolution asking the Federal Government to suspend the operations of the national carrier.
The committee noted that it was totally dissatisfied with the actions of Sirika flagging off the operations of Nigeria Air despite a standing court injunction and without any provision for sustaining the operations of the airline.
“A careful review of the process indicates the exercise to be highly opaque, shrouded in secrecy, shoddy and capable of ridiculing and tarnishing the image of Nigeria before the international community,” the committee said.
It asked the Ministry of Aviation and its partners in the Nigeria Air project to “immediately suspend flights operations.”
The committee also called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently constitute a high level presidential committee to undertake a holistic review of the processes of setting up Nigeria Air.
“All individuals, groups or organisations involved in the controversial shenanigan named ‘Nigeria Air take-off’ must be brought to book, prosecuted and sanctioned,” the lawmakers said.
While speaking before the committee, Emmanuel Meribole, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Aviation, said there was no money spent on the unveiling of Nigeria Air.
He said the national carrier had yet to be issued an Air Operator Certificate but that the processes were ongoing.
Meribole said from 2017 to date, not up to N3.8 billion had been spent on the national carrier project.
However, Rowland Iyayi, a member of the AON, alleged that the Nigeria Air project had gulped about N85.4 billion.
“The Nigerian government has appropriated N85. 2billion, the point is what exactly are we talking about when you’re talking about Nigeria Air? In one breath, we’re told in the outline business case that it’s a flag carrier. In another breath, we were told it’s a national carrier,” he said.
He added, “There’s a clear distinction between what a national carrier is and a flag carrier and to all intents and purposes, what we have here is a flag carrier.
“Nigerians should not be hoping to believe that we have a national carrier. What we’re saying is, we need accountability to tell us exactly what has been with all the funds appropriated since 2017 and 2016. And if indeed all the shareholders are party to this, how much have they contributed?”
IT WAS A CHARTERED FLIGHT – MD
The acting Managing Director of Nigeria Air, Dayo Olumide, has, however, disclosed that the airplane that landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on 26th May 2023, was a chartered one from Ethiopia.
Olumide, who spoke before the Senate Committee on Aviation on Tuesday, noted that the plane was chartered from Ethiopian Airlines to launch Nigeria Air.
“It is a pleasure to be here and to finally make our position known where I can clarify all the misconceptions regarding Nigeria Air as it pertains to the technical aspects of it.
“As you know this airline was launched with the logo in 2018. Several things have transpired since then that have nothing to do with me.
“I was invited last February, my mandate is to secure an air operating certificate for the airline not necessarily to operate the airline but to secure a licence to fly. And that is entirely my responsibility,” he said.
In response to one of the lawmakers’ question on the required licence, he stated, “I will like to address your question first before I go on. The aircraft that came in and left was a legitimate charter flight. Anyone of us here if we have a destination wedding in Senegal, we can charter an aircraft.
“You don’t need to have a licence to do that, you just charter an aircraft, you pay for it, it will be brought here, take your passengers, and off you go.”
According to the MD, the aircraft was brought in to show Nigerians what Nigeria Air would look like.
