.No court can stop airline from flying Sirika
The Federal High Court, sitting in Lagos, has stopped the Federal Government from going on with its Nigeria Air agreement reached with Ethiopia Airlines.
Justice A. Lewis-Allagoa, who granted the order of interim injunction on Friday, ruled that an Order of Maintenance of Status Quo by all the parties in the suit from taking any further step(s) in relation to the subject matter of the suit pending when the determination of the ‘Motion on Notice’ is granted.
Recall that about eight domestic airlines sued the FG to court, listing Nigerian Air, Ethiopian Airlines, Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, and Attorney-General of the Federation, (AGF) Abubakar Malami, as defendants.
Among other prayers, the airlines want the court to stop the national carrier deal and withdraw the Air Transport Licence already issued to Nigeria Air by the Federal Government/Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, (NCAA). They also claimed that the firm, which served as Transaction Adviser for the transaction, was incorporated in March last year and alleged that the company was linked to the aviation minister.
But the court, in granting the exparte order on Friday, also ruled that an Order of Accelerated Hearing of this suit has been granted. However, the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, yesterday said the Federal Government is going ahead with establishing a national carrier despite the subsisting suit challenging the project.
During a stakeholders appreciation forum in Lagos airport runway 18L, Sirika insisted that aviation stakeholders and unions had sufficient time to participate in the process and cannot stall the project with legal suits. According to him, he does not see the possibility that any court of competent jurisdiction will erect a roadblock to the emergence of the national carrier.
The minister said he personally and individually engaged indigenous carriers to participate in the project, including Air Peace, Azman Air and Max Air but they turned down the invitation because it was not formal. Sirika insisted that aviation stakeholders and unions had sufficient time to participate in the process rather than engaging in legal suit to stall the project.
The minister described it as totally unacceptable and unfair for stakeholders to claim that they have not been carried along on the national carrier project, adding that anybody who is parading such information is working contrary to the actualisation of the aviation Road Map.
He said he will put measures in place to sustain the achievements in the aviation industry during the Buhari administration.
