FG suspends Nigeria Air project indefinitely

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Minister of Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo says the Nigeria Air 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.

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 a 5 percent stake, while a consortium of three Nigerian investors held 46 percent.

In response to the deal, the House of Representatives in June 2023 called on the federal government to cease operations of Nigeria Air, calling it a “fraud.”

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

Giving an update at the minister’s press conference in Abuja to mark Tinubu’s one-year anniversary in office, Keyamo said the project was still on hold.

“It remains suspended. It was never Air Nigeria. It was not Air Nigeria. That is the truth. It was just Air Nigeria painted on. It was Ethiopian Airlines trying to raise our flag,” he said.

“If that is the case, why don’t we let our locals fly our flag? Why do we let a foreigner fly our flag? So no one should deny that it was Air Nigeria.

“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.

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