Sirika’s claims spark fresh rumpus over failed Nigeria Air

…as stakeholders disagree connected way forward

By Dickson Omobola

Last week, erstwhile Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Hadi Sirika, revived conversations astir the failed nationalist bearer project, Nigeria Air. 

Since the play of May 26, 2023, erstwhile a Boeing 737-800, reportedly owned by Ethiopian Airlines, ET, and covered with Nigeria Air sticker, landed astatine the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, NAIA, Abuja, galore who spoke astir the agreement  desisted from doing truthful owed to the shame it brought.

In fact, but for the question thrown astatine the erstwhile curate connected air, helium mightiness not person revisited the contented till the merchandise of his “book.”

Speaking astir the failed task connected the Morning Brief, a Channels TV programme, Sirika was speedy to exonerate himself, laying the blasted for the unsuccessful statement with ET connected 3 home airlines: Air Peace, United Nigeria Airlines and Azman.

He said: “We had an airline, but immoderate radical (Air Peace, United and Azman) went to tribunal to accidental that we cannot found an hose wherever we instrumentality 5 per cent. That was what stalled it. By today, if determination was nary tribunal case, and the authorities (President Bola Tinubu administration) that came successful had pursued the tribunal case, we would person had an airline. All that we did to found Nigeria Air, we had taken to the last measurement earlier these radical present went to court.”

Court case

Back successful 2022, immoderate home carriers, specifically Azman Air, Air Peace, Max Air, Top brass Aviation and United Nigeria Airlines, nether the aegis of Airline Operators of Nigeria, AON, sued Federal Government for violating processes to commencement a caller nationalist bearer and its determination to prime ET arsenic the halfway investor.

In the suit, they accused the Ministry of Aviation of not complying with the 3 stages of the nationalist procurement process arsenic stipulated successful the Act of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, ICRC, which see advertisement and review.

On November 15, 2022, a Federal High Court sitting successful Ikoyi, Lagos, issued an Order of Interim Injunction restraining national authorities and different parties from executing the statement of the nationalist carrier.

The suit came to an extremity connected August 5, 2024, erstwhile a Federal High Court successful Lagos declared the merchantability and enactment process for the projected nationalist bearer null and void.

In the ruling, Justice Lewis-Allagoa declared that the Nigeria Air woody violated aggregate aviation, corporate, procurement and concern laws.

Consequently, it was not astonishing that the ineligible struggle the nationalist bearer statement created betwixt Sirika and the AON forced the ex-Minister to play the blasted game.

Routine question

In immoderate case, his consequent statement, showed helium doubted  the capableness of Nigerian airlines to compete. Many would not hold with him connected that.

Sirika said: “Talking astir ET. 95 per cent of each airlines operating successful Africa are not African, specified arsenic British Airways, Qatar, Air France, among others. ET has been moving an hose for 79 years. They person made a connection connected however to tally an airline, and they are Africans.

“They came to spouse with america to beryllium capable to unfastened the satellite up to us. Today, the terms of a summons from Abuja to London is much costly than from Accra to London, and the crushed is that we bash not person a formidable hose with specified capacity. We person seen Air Peace and Azman before. When I accidental we person seen them, I mean we person seen Kabo, which was overmuch bigger than each of them. We saw Okada, Arik. They each came and went. What is amiss is the capableness they request to physique to vie with radical who person 250 aeroplanes. I bash not deliberation an hose that has 5 craft tin vie successful the planetary marketplace with well-established carriers and expect to run and marque profit.”

Compete

Bearing successful caput his justification for the statement with ET, his remark astir competing connected a worldwide standard has sparked arguments astir the kind...