After the managing director of Nigeria Air, Dayo Olumide, revealed that the plane that landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on May 26, 2023, was a chartered one from Ethiopia Airlines, some Nigerians on the internet demanded the arrest and prosecution of the previous aviation minister, Hadi Sirika.
On Monday, Olumide disclosed this information in response to queries from senators, noting that the airline had just been created and that obtaining an operating license for it fell under his personal purview.
He said, “It is a pleasure to be here and to finally make our position known, where I can clarify all the misconceptions regarding Nigeria Air as it pertains to the technical aspects of it.”
Despite a Federal High Court in Lagos’s injunction barring Nuhu Musa, director-general of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, from issuing an air operator’s certificate to the proposed airline, Sirika was quoted by The Spectator as saying at a Federal Executive Council meeting that the national carrier will start operating before Buhari’s administration ends on May 29, 2023.
The contract for photometric and taxiway lighting for the airports in Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt was also authorized by the council, he continued, and it will cost 3.5 billion Naira.
“Something very significant has happened in the world of civil aviation; part of our road map, the Aviation Leasing Company, has been established and approved by the council.
Olumide refuted the minister’s assertion that the Federal Government will hold 5% of the equity while a group of three Nigerian investors (MRS, SAHCO, and the Nigerian Sovereign Fund) will hold 46%. He added that because the aircraft was rented, no license or other formalities were necessary.
Netizens have been quite critical of the minister in the interim and have demanded that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission arrest and charge him.
“Nigeria Air” has been branded a hoax, according to a tweeter named Rinu Oduala, after key participants in the agreement between the Federal Government and Ethiopian Airlines denied knowledge of the launch. According to NAMA, the jet was chartered and given a new coat of Nigerian paint. The aircraft has since returned to its original location.
“In a sane country, people like Hadi Sirika should be locked up but EFCC will never do that,” another tweeter named Irunnia stated. They prefer to detain everyone they find carrying an iPhone, even if it is an iPhone 6 that has been used in the UK. This man conned the entire nation, and now he is still walking around without fear.”
“Senator Sirika pushed for this twice, and after the second attempt, a huge dent has been placed on the adventure with the “fraud label”. Lessons for him and everyone involved,” Agboworin wrote.
“Even the government admitted they were fraudulent in what they did. Their justification; a chartered flight to Nigeria can be painted in any colour and with any inscription. Nigeria is not real, Wallahi.”
