Nigerian Airlines laud judiciary for stopping sale of Nigeria Air

Nigerian airlines, under their umbrella body, Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), have praised the country’s judiciary system for upholding justice and standing for what is right in its delivery of judgment on August 5, 2024, against the purported sale of Nigeria Air to Ethiopian Airlines under the guise of setting up a national carrier.

Reacting to the judgment delivered at the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos by Justice A. Alagba on Monday, which declared that “the action, conduct, and/or decisions in the sale of the shares and operations of the so-called Nigeria Air were in violation of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020, SEC Nigeria Consolidated Rules & Regulations 2013 (as amended in 2022), Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) Act, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Convention, Civil Aviation Act, public procurement processes for public-private partnership in the federal government under the national policy on public-private partnership (N4P), and Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations, 2015, and other regulatory statutes on aviation, companies, and investment laws in Nigeria.”

According to the AON: “The court also stood firm on the path of truth by declaring the entire administrative actions and decisions in the sale of the shares of Nigeria Air to Ethiopian Airlines and its pseudo “consortium” invalid, void, and of no effect, adding that Ethiopian Airlines was incompetent to bid for shares in Nigeria Air and commence business accordingly.

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“To this end, the court also gave an order setting aside the entire bidding/selection processes for the “Nigeria Air” project as well as the approval, grant, or selection of Ethiopian Airlines by the former Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, in the process.

The court also gave an order directing the immediate revocation and cancellation of the Air Traffic License (ATL) issued by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority to Nigeria Air Limited, and issued a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, their agents, servants, officers, privies, and principals from perfecting, continuing, and transferring the operations of Nigeria Air by the former Minister of Aviation to Ethiopian Airlines.”

Commenting on the judgment of the court, AON President Alhaji Abdumunaf Yunusa Sarina said: “The bold and patriotic declarations and orders made by the court leave no one in doubt that the entire bidding, approval, and so-called unveiling process of the purported national carrier was nothing other than a sham set up to hoodwink Nigerians.

It was also a surreptitious plan to kill Nigerian indigenous airlines and hand over the commonwealth of Nigeria’s huge aviation market, with over 85 Bilateral Air Service Agreements around the world, to Ethiopian Airlines through the back door without investing a penny into the Nigerian economy and in an attempt to satisfy the whims and caprices of some selfish and unpatriotic individuals.

“We, therefore, thank the court for standing tall in the face of untold pressure from very high quarters and for exonerating AON and other well-meaning Nigerian indigenous airlines for going to court to protect the interest of Nigeria, as well as proving to be truly the only hope of the common man.

“We equally thank and laud President Bola Tinubu’s government, as represented by the current Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, for suspending the Nigeria Air process as planned by the former minister, and for being bold and courageous on this issue. Mr. Keyamo saw the truth and aligned with the truth for the sake of the country.”