The Federal Government has announced that Nigeria Air remains suspended.
This confirmation came from Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, during a ministerial press briefing in Abuja to mark President Bola Tinubu’s first year in office.
In 2023, the Ministry of Aviation, led by former minister Hadi Sirika, unveiled Nigeria Air just three days before the end of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
The move sparked concerns nationwide due to the ownership arrangement, which granted Ethiopian Airlines a 49 per cent equity stake.
The Federal Government held 5 per cent equity, while a consortium of three Nigerian investors had the remaining 46 per cent.
In June 2023, the House of Representatives called for the suspension of Nigeria Air, labelling the project a fraud.
Following this, in August 2023, Keyamo announced the indefinite suspension of the national carrier project.
Keyamo elaborated on the reasons for the suspension, stating, “It remains suspended. It was never Nigeria Air. It was not Air Nigeria. That’s the truth. It was only painted Nigeria Air.
“It was Ethiopian Airlines trying to flag our flag. If it is so, why not allow our local plane to fly our flag? So nobody should dispute that it was Nigeria Air.
“Air Nigeria must be indigenous, must be wholly Nigerian, and must be for the full benefits of Nigeria, not that 50 per cent of the profit is for another country.”
He reiterated that the ownership structure of the suspended airline was not beneficial to the country.
“Nigeria Air must be indigenous, it must be only Nigeria or it must be for the full benefit of Nigeria. Not that 60 per cent of the profit is for another country.
“How does that benefit us? So it remains suspended,” Keyamo concluded.
Air was unveiled at the Farnborough Air Show in England on 18 July, 2018.
The project was initially suspended two months after it was announced as critics raised concerns over its relevance and sustainability, Dockaysworld reports
The proposed airline was expected to gulp $8.8 million in preliminary cost and $300 million as take-off cost.
The idea of Nigeria Air was raised many years after Nigeria’s defunct carrier, Nigeria Airways, collapsed due to corruption and poor management.
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