APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, Mr. Hadi Sirika, has said that the proposed national carrier, Nigeria Air, will commence full operations before the end of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari on May 29, 2023.
Speaking at the aviation stakeholder’s forum in Abuja on Thursday, Sirika said: “Before the end of this administration, before May 29th, we will fly.”
The Minister, who said the operation of the new airline has been hindered by court cases, explained that all the Nigerian owned airlines were invited to invest in the Nigeria Air, but they declined because they did not believe in the project.
According to him, the Ethiopian Airlines came with a better proposal and were chosen as the preferred bidder because of the expertise they have shown and survived for a long time now.
He explained that negotiation meeting with the Ethiopian Airlines Group Consortium and the Nigerian Government of Nigeria is still ongoing.
Speaking on the trapped funds belonging to foreign airlines in Nigeria, Sirika said that the Nigerian government had taken measures to ensure that the funds would not pile up again.
GIK/APA