Why Nigeria Air will remain suspended – aviation minister | read details
The minister for aviation , Festus Keyamo, has said that the controversial Nigeria Air remains suspended because it never belonged to Nigeria but Ethiopia.
Keyamo stated this on Monday during the ministerial press briefing in Abuja, marking President Bola Tinubu’s first year in office.
Keyamo said,
“It remains suspended. It was never Air Nigeria. 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.”
“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,”.
Recall that in 2023, the Ministry of Aviation, under the then minster, Hadi Sirika, unveiled Nigeria Air three days before the end of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
The development had elicited concerns among stakeholders nationwide over the ownership arrangement which gave Ethiopian Airlines a 49 per cent equity stake.
The Federal Government had a 5 per cent equity, while a consortium of three Nigerian investors had 46 per cent.
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.
In August 2023, Keyamo announced that the national carrier project was suspended till further notice.
