FG suspends Nigeria Air indefinitely

The federal government has announced that Nigeria Air’s flight operations will remain suspended.

During the ministerial press conference in Abuja to mark President Bola Tinubu’s first year in office, the Minister of Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, provided an update and confirmed that the project remains on hold.

In 2023, the Ministry of Aviation under former Minister Hadi Sirika unveiled Nigeria Air three days before the end of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s term. https://punchng.com/sirika-under-fire-after-nigeria-airs-md-says-aircraft-hired/

The development had raised concerns among stakeholders across the country about the ownership structure, which gave Ethiopian Airlines a 49 percent stake in the company.

The federal government held 5 percent of the shares, while a consortium of three Nigerian investors owned 46 percent.

In response to the deal, the House of Representatives in June 2023 called on the federal government to shut down Nigeria Air’s operations, calling it a fraud.

In August 2023, Keyamo announced that the national carrier project was suspended until further notice.

Keyamo said: “It remains suspended. It was never Air Nigeria. It was not Air Nigeria. That is the truth. It was only Nigeria Air. It was Ethiopian Airlines trying to raise our flag.”

“If that’s the case, why can’t our local aircraft fly our flag? Then no one should deny that it was Nigeria Air.”

“Air Nigeria must be indigenous, must be fully Nigerian and must bring full benefit to Nigeria, not 50 percent of the profits going to another country.”

Keyamo reiterated that the ownership structure of the defunct airline was not beneficial for the country.

“Nigeria Air must be indigenous, it must either be purely Nigerian or it must fully benefit Nigeria.

“It’s not like 60 percent of the profits go to another country. How do we benefit from that? So it remains suspended,” he said.