There is new twist to the Nigerian Air controversy as aviation industry stakeholders said the immediate Minister of Aviation; Senator Hadi Sirika lied on live television about his claims on the issue.
Senator Sirika, had earlier in July 2018, unveiled the name and logo of Nigeria Air at Farnborough International promising that operation would begin within five months from that day.
Sirika then said the airline would have flights on 81 domestic, regional and international routes. Barely two months after, Federal Government put the project on hold, asserting that it was a tough decision.
Following questions and repeated public discourse of the project and the said amount spent, Sirika repeatedly assured that the project would kick off, stressing the plan for number and models of the aircrafts that would be used in the fleet.
Ministry of Aviation under Sirika on May 26, 2023, organised a programme for the unveiling of the said Nigeria Air.
Held at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, the minister expressed delight that the Federal Government had matched its words with action regarding the project. But Nigeriasn in their reactions felt the country was shortchanged, especially with the insignia of the Ethiopian Airlines plane that was used for the unveiling.
Though Minister exit the government along with President Muhammadu Buhari on 29 May, in an ARISE Television interview, Sirika cleared the air and addressed multiple issues, denying the involvement of the aviation ministry in the unveiling, but put the blame at the door step of Ethiopian Airlines, which he said has 49 percent majority shares in the project.
“It was the owners of Nigeria Air, the consortium of the federal government (five per cent) that decided to do the unveiling as part of their marketing strategy. So it is not the government that was doing the unveiling to start the operations. Not at all. It was them who did it and I was invited,” Sirika had said on the live television programme.
However, industry stakeholders said several documents in the public domain revealed that the unveiling was organised by the Ministry of Aviation. An invitation letter was said to be issued by the ministry inviting guests to the launch.
The invitation letter they assert read: “The Federal Ministry of Aviation cordially requests your presence at the official unveiling of Nigeria Air.”
The venue of the unveiling was put as Nigeria Air Operations Control Centre, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. Also, the order of event saw the Permanent Secretary in the ministry reading the welcome address followed by the goodwill messages by Chairmen, Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Aviation.
The next speaker according to the order of event which was covered by many television stations was the CEO of Ethiopian Airlines while the minister unveiled the aircraft.
Aviation industry stakeholders also confirmed that they received invitations from the ministry.
Hadi Sirika had claimed in the interview that about 5 billion naira and not 85 billion naira as claimed by some reports was budgeted for the project with only 3 billion naira released. He claimed that the 3 billion naira was not event exhausted by the ministry before he exited the government and the ministry.
