Minister of Aviation And Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo has reaffirmed that the Nigeria Air project remains suspended.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Ministry of Aviation, under Hadi Sirika, former minister unveiled Nigeria Air — three days before the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
The development had sparked concerns among stakeholders nationwide over the ownership arrangement which gave Ethiopian Airlines a 49 percent equity stake, the federal government 5%, and a consortium of three Nigerian investors 46%.
Reacting to the deal in June 2023, the House of Representatives asked the federal government to suspend the operations of Nigeria Air, describing it as a fraud. And in August 2023, Keyamo announced that the national carrier project was suspended till further notice.
At a recent ministerial press briefing in Abuja, marking Tinubu’s one year in office, Keyamo clarified that the project is still suspended.
Keyamo said “It remains suspended. It was never Air Nigeria. It was not Air Nigeria. That’s the truth. It was only painted Air Nigeria. It was Ethiopian Airlines trying to fly our flag.”
“If it is so, why not allow our local people to fly our flag. Why bring a foreigner to fly our flag? So nobody should dispute that it was Air Nigeria.”
“Air Nigeria must be indigenous, must be wholly Nigerian, and must be for the full benefits of Nigeria, not that 50 percent of the profit is for another country.”
Keyamo emphasized that the ownership structure of the suspended airline is not in the best interests of the country.
