Ministry of Aviation has said having Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) on the list of private investors in the upcoming national carrier project was made in error.
This was made known on Saturday in a press statement issued by the Special Assistant (Public Affairs) to the Minister of Aviation, Dr. James Odaudu
The statement which read in part, stated: “Our attention has been drawn to the inadvertent inclusion of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) as part of the private investors in the Nigeria Air project,” it clarified that the Federal government agency “is not involved, in any way, as part of the private equity ownership of the airline, being a government establishment.”
Odaudu who said “no mention of NSIA was made in the Minister’s presentation, but only in the general brief given to the media,” however said it was “an error made during its preparation.”
He therefore gave the list of the private sector investors in the project to includeEthiopian Airlines 49%, Nigerian private investors (SAHCO, MRS and other institutional investors) 46%.
“The For the avoidance of doubt, the equity ownership structure of Nigeria Air stands as : Ethiopian Airlines 49%, Nigerian private investors (SAHCO, MRS and other institutional investors) 46% and the Federal Government 5%,” Odaudu clarified.
Such an error of omission is very embarrassing from a corporate institution yet to begin business.