The House of Representatives has declared the unveiling of the national carrier, ‘Air Nigeria’, just before the end of the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration a fraud.
Speaking at an investigative hearing on Tuesday with Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) and representatives of ministry of aviation, Nnaji Nnolim, chairman of the House committee on aviation, said the unveiling of Nigeria Air was a fraud.
According to Nnoli, “The committee, after careful evaluation of the issues on deliberation, is totally dissatisfied with the actions of the former Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirka, in going ahead to flag off the operations of Nigeria Air despite a standing court/injunction against such, and without any provision for sustaining the operations of the airline.
“We are equally irked by the role played by Ethiopian Airlines in this whole process. It does not speak well of the excellent brotherly relationship existing between our two nations.
“A careful review of the process indicates the exercise to be highly opaque, shrouded in secrecy, shoddy and capable of ridiculing and tarnishing the image of Nigeria before the international community. We want to put on record that the committee, and indeed the National Assembly, had no role in the purported launch of Nigeria Air or anything related thereof”, he said.
Consequently, the committee resolved to “direct the Federal Ministry of Aviation and its partners in the Nigeria Air project to immediately suspend flights operations and every other action with respect to Nigeria Air.”
The committee also urged President Bola Tinubu to “as a matter of urgency constitute a high level presidential committee to undertake a holistic review of the processes of the whole Nigeria Air project, and advise the government on the way forward and ensure that all individuals, or groups, or organisations involved in the controversial shenanigan named ‘Nigeria Air Take-Off’ are brought to book, prosecuted and sanctioned.”
