Key players doubt April takeoff date for new national carrier

BARELY three months to the date announced by Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, for the takeoff of the much talked about national carrier, Nigeria Air, there is still air of uncertainty surrounding the probability of meeting the deadline.

Sirika had last year announced April 2022 as the takeoff date for the new national carrier after several failed efforts to provide a new national airline 21 years after the controversial liquidation of Nigeria Airways.

The desire of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government to float another carrier which initially excited many Nigerians however raised suspicion over what stakeholders call the lack of transparency adopted by the Minister in packaging the new carrier.

In just about three months to the date for the birth of the new airline, key players are raising questions about the magic wand the Minister intends to use to finally float it on the premise that there were no visible structures on the ground to confirm the readiness.

Speaking to Nigerian Tribune, a foremost labour leader in the sector, Comrade Olayinka Abioye expressed doubt about the possibility of the commencement of operations of the national carrier in April.

“My opinion may not matter but in all sincerity and given the avalanche of opinions already expressed on the same matter, I do not see a national carrier unveiled in six months.

“Notwithstanding whatever apparatus the ministry may have on ground, there are several issues that require serious regulatory oversight by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) in the first instance, recruitment of required manpower, advertisements for partners both local and international, location of head office and other operational stations, required infrastructure in all the locations, etc.

“Asides the above, the involvement of local entrepreneurs must be paramount since the government only wishes to hold five per cent in the enterprise. Major decisions to be made ought to be made not by the government who is a minority shareholder but by the major holders of the enterprise. All said and done, it is better we are late in unveiling same than doing so early and fail woefully as we had in the past years,” Abioye said.

Also towing the same line, the Managing Director of Centurion Security Services and a former military commandant of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Group Captain John Ojikutu (retd), described the April date as doubtful.

His words; “If we cannot float an airline in five years of the planning, I am not sure if we can seriously establish one before April 2022. We need aircraft, technical crew, maintenance crew and the commercial personnel, ground support and dispatchers, etc. We need the NCAA licences for the operations and the crew. The airline needs technical surveys. We need to establish domestic and international routes for the airlines and where the operational base for the airlines would be, etc,” Ojikutu said.

 

YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents

In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state.

Selfies, video calls and Chinese documentaries: The things you’ll meet onboard Lagos-Ibadan train

The Lagos-Ibadan railway was inaugurated recently for a full paid operation by the Nigerian Railway Corporation after about a year of free test-run. Our reporter joined the train to and fro Lagos from Ibadan and tells his experience in this report…