Nigeria Air project is fraudulent and remains suspended – Keyamo

Minister of Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo has described the Buhari administration’s controversial airline Nigeria Air as a fraud.

He said the project remains on hold.

He said the “national airline”, which was supposed to be a homegrown project and bring hope to Nigerians, was full of secrets and fraudulent activities.

Keyamo made this statement to Nigeria Air while answering questions from journalists on the second day of the ministerial meeting in Abuja on Monday, May 27.

He said: “It was never Air Nigeria. It was Ethiopian that wanted to fly our flag, not Air Nigeria. That is the truth; it was not Nigeria.”

“It just said Air Nigeria. It was an Ethiopian airline trying to fly our flag. If that’s the case, why don’t we allow our locals to fly our flag? Why do we make a foreigner fly our flag?”

“So nobody should deceive you into thinking it is Air Nigeria. Air Nigeria must be indigenous, all Nigeria or must be for the full benefit of Nigerians. It cannot be that 60 percent of the profits go to another country.

“What benefit does this have for us? It remains suspended. It remains that way,” he said.

Speaking further on some of the steps taken so far to promote economic development in the aviation sector, Keyamo highlighted the commencement of cargo flights, noting that this will enable Nigeria to tap into the $6 trillion global cargo market.

“We have agreed to resume cargo flights between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.

“This trade was suspended for a long time, but now cargo flights are back. And you know what? Air cargo trade accounts for 35 percent of the world trade deficit.