Minister of State, Aviation
Amidst the controversies surrounding the suspension of the proposed national Carrier project, Nigeria Air, the Federal Government has said the project is not dead but temporarily suspended even as it explained the reasons for the suspension.
Speaking through the Minister of State, Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika at the fifth Aviation Stakeholders’ Forum held at the Nigerian Air Force Conference Centre and Suites, Kado Abuja, the Federal government explained that the Nigeria Air project was suspended because of the long period it took the Transaction advisers appointed to complete its works after it was taken over from a consultant it was initially given to.
“The Nigeria Air project was suspended because of the extra 13 months it took for the Transaction advisers to complete the works after they took over from Lufthansa who brought in some outrageous demands to be transaction advisers,” added that “Apart from commitments in respect of transaction advisory services, branding and participation at Farnborough Air show, no other expenditure has been incurred on the Nigeria Air Project”.
Sirika who debunked the insinuations in the media that the Federal government has spent millions of dollars on the project which is temporarily put on hold, told the gathering which had the Minister for Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN). Minister of Information and Tourism, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and notable stakeholders in the aviation industry in attendance, that so far the federal government has committed the sum of N50,893,000.00 for branding and N40,219,769.20 for these services but which is yet to be made.
On the participation of the Federal Ministry of Aviation at Farnborough Airshow, the minister explained that the team that attended the show needed to go to a places where there is visibility to launch the airline.
“Farnborough Airshow is a bi-annual Global Aviation event, which provided a perfect opportunity to unveil the National Carrier. It created visibility and connected manufacturers, investors and financiers. It also gave opportunity to showcase all the projects in the Aviation roadmap,” he said.
