Nigeria Air project has gone too far to be truncated ― Sirika

The ongoing controversy surrounding the constitution of the proposed national carrier, Nigeria Air has continued to pitch domestic airlines against the federal government.

The disagreement which took a new twist last week with the airlines dragging the government before a law Court asking for the stoppage of the Nigeria Air/Ethiopian airline deal got more dramatic with the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika saying he was not aware of any court notice from the airlines.

This is just as he maintained that no court of law can stop the take-off of Nigeria Air as the project has gone too far to be truncated.

Speaking at a get-together event organized by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to appreciate stakeholders for their cooperation during the three months shutdown of the Lagos airport domestic runway 18 left for the installation of airfield lighting, Sirika denied the knowledge of such legal action by the domestic airlines.

Sirika who declared that there was no going back on the national carrier project, took a swipe at the domestic airlines for taking the back seat while they were given the first choice of investing in the proposed airline.

The Minister cited how he directly spoke with the airline operators on the need for them to own shares in the proposed national carrier, an offer they rejected.

Whilst saying no law forbids foreign investors from participating in such projects, the Minister cited the examples of Julius Berger and Shell Petroleum’s active involvement in such projects.

The Minister took time off to equally respond to the accusations levelled against him by the aviation unions that he did not carry them along in his lined-up projects for execution.

The Unions at a rally held to mobilize the workers of the FAAN and those of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) against plans by the Minister to demolish their Lagos head offices and concession four major airports across the country.

The Minister while reacting to these allegations said, contrary to the allegations that the unions were not carried along in the issues, that the unions and all stakeholders were actually engaged at different meetings.

Sirika while puncturing the unions’ position, added that he even went out of his way to appoint some union members to the various project committees even when there was no law that compelled him to do so.

Speaking on the rumoured plans to demolish the aviation agencies’ head offices in Lagos airport, the Minister denied such a move saying: “How I wish I could demolish them to give room for the aerotropolis project”, even as he described the Lagos head office of FAAN in particular as unfit.

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