Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, Mr. Hadi Sirika, has said that N5 billion (about $13.157 million) has been approved by the government as bailout for airline operators and other business owners in the aviation sector to cushion the effects of COVID-19 on the Nigerian aviation industry.
The Minister said on Monday that N4 billion was approved as a bailout for airline operators, while N1 billion was approved for other business owners in the aviation sector.
Speaking at the public hearing of the Senate in respect of the repeal and the reenactment of the laws establishing the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and other agencies in the aviation sector, Sirika said that the government’s decision to offer the bailout was based on the pivotal role of the aviation sector to the Nigerian economy.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Smart Adeyemi, said that the proposed bailout was inadequate for the airlines, which are battling to survive.
According to Senator Adeyemi, the amount is grossly inadequate to make any meaningful impact or relieve the impact of the pandemic on the industry.
($1=N380)
GIK/APA