The Federal Government has said it has not picked any preferred bidder for the proposed National carrier- Nigeria Air contrary to the reports being circulated in a section of the media.
This was contained in a statement issued and made available to the media by the Director, Public Affairs Ministry of Aviation, Dr. James Odaudu
The statement which denied chosen Qatar Airways as the preferred bidder for the technical partner of the proposed national carrier, said the report was a plan of mischief makers to discredit the processes of establishing the airline and discourage foreign investors.
“Our attention has been drawn to reports in some media to the effect that Qatar Airways has been chosen as the preferred bidder for Nigeria’s national carrier, ‘Nigeria Air’.
“The report, coming just two days after the issuance of a Request For Proposal which was published in local and international news media, is not only false but capable of discrediting the process for the establishment of the airline, and discouraging interested parties,” the statement said.
The government insisted that the process leading to the publication of Request For Proposals (RFP) has been transparent, saying no corporate entity or individual has been chosen as a preferred bidder.
“We wish to state that throughout the process leading to the publication of the Request for Proposal, the guiding principle has been transparency and accountability which we promised will remain till the final delivery of the project, and by which we stand.
“We wish to state categorically that no corporate entity or individual has been appointed or selected, or even preferred for the project as the process for selection has just started with the Request for Proposal,” the statement added.
The federal government therefore appealed to all interested partners in the bidding to discountenanced the report and continue with their proposals.
“All interested partners and the public are therefore advised to discountenance the report and proceed with their proposals as we assure them of our unalloyed commitment to transparency and accountability till the end of the process,” it concluded.
