By Ken Afor
The House of Representatives has initiated a new inquiry into the current situation of Nigeria Air, a national carrier that was conceived during the previous administration.
The House, following a motion put forward by Tarkighir Dickson (APC, Benue) on Thursday, has requested its relevant aviation committees to conduct an investigation into the proposed carrier.
It would be recalled in july 2018, Nigeria Air was introduced at the Farnborough Air Show in England.
The project faced suspension merely two months after its announcement due to concerns raised by critics regarding its relevance and sustainability.
The preliminary cost of the proposed airline was estimated at $8.8 million, with an additional $300 million required for take-off.
The concept of Nigeria Air emerged several years following the demise of Nigeria Airways, the country’s former airline, which crumbled as a result of corruption and inadequate administration.
Subsequently, Hadi Sirika, the former minister of aviation, disclosed a collaboration between the Nigerian government and Ethiopian Air to provide financial backing for the establishment of the national carrier.
Mr. Sirika stated that Ethiopian Air was supposed to possess 49 percent of the airline, while a consortium of local investors was expected to hold 46 percent, and the Nigerian government was to maintain five percent.
This arrangement faced strong opposition from local airline operators, who took the government to court, as well as committees of the National Assembly.
Despite facing opposition, Mr Sirika and Ethiopia Air proceeded to launch the airline without obtaining the necessary approvals from regulatory authorities.
The actions of Mr Sirika sparked widespread outrage among Nigerians.
Meanwhile, after the launch of the national carrier, Sirika who appeared before the House Committee alleged that Nnolim Nnaji, a member who represented Nkanu East and West, Enugu State and the former Chairman of the House Committee on Aviation, had requested a 5% stake in the national carrier from him.
Sirika’s allegation came less than a week after Mr Nnolim’s committee stated that the launch of Nigeria Air was marred with fraud and called for the prosecution of the former minister and everyone involved in the “controversial” launch of the airline.
“He (Honourable Nnaji) asked me that I should give him five per cent of Nigeria Air to carry him along with his people.
“I said to him at that time, Honourable, a bidding process has taken place, and some people won. So, I think you should go to those people and ask for the five per cent,” Mr Sirika said.
Giving his reaction to the fictitious launch of the airline, Festus Keyamo, the current Minister of Aviation, while expressing his strong disapproval announced in September that all ongoing plans for Nigeria’s national carrier, Nigeria Air, have been temporarily put on hold.
Interestingly, both Keyamo and Sirika served under the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
Keyamo was the minister of state for labour and employment while Mr Sirika served as aviation minister.
However, at Thursday’s hearing of the matter, Mr. Dickson, in presenting the motion, asserted that the previous administration had allocated billions of naira towards the launch of the national carrier, yet yielded no tangible outcome.
He emphasized the necessity for the House to thoroughly scrutinize this expenditure in order to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
“The last administration spent billions of naira ostensibly to acquire the said new national carrier but the status of the project remains unclear regardless of billions of taxpayers’ funds utilised on the project.
“If the negative trend is not investigated, it may lead to issues with accountability and continue to be a recurring expenditure item in the federal budget,” Mr Dickson said.
Following the presentation of the motion, the House resolved as follows;
– To urge the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and Ministries of Budget, National Planning and Finance to furnish the House with data and financial resources on the national air carrier project;
– To mandate the committees on Aviation and the committee on aviation technology to invite the minister of aviation to brief them about the National Carrier Project;
– Mandate the committees to invite Mr Sirika to brief it on the status of the project at the point he handed it over and provide insights on a wide range of controversies and allegations surrounding the project;
– Mandate the committees to invite the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and eight local airlines to give the House a full overview of the project; and
– Mandate the committees to carry out a forensic audit of the process of Nigeria Air and report back within four weeks for further legislative action.
The motion was largely accepted after Deputy Speaker Ben Kalu called for it.
