Festus Keyamo, the minister of aviation and aerospace development, said the Nigerian government has suspended indefinitely the Nigeria Air national carrier project, initially introduced by the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
Keyamo, during a press briefing at the ministerial sectoral update in Abuja, condemned the project as fraudulent, adding to the existing criticism and uncertainty surrounding the controversial Nigeria Air initiative.
The minister declared further that the Nigeria Air project, which was supposed to be a national carrier representing indigenous interests, was in fact smeared with secrecy and fraudulent activities.
According to Keyamo, the project, unveiled by the previous Buhari-led administration, was so flawed that it was deemed ‘anti-Nigeria’.
In his words: “It was never Air Nigeria, it was Ethiopian trying to fly our flag. It was not Air Nigeria. That is the truth. It was not Nigeria. It only printed Air Nigeria. It was an Ethiopian airline trying to fly our flag. If it is so, why not allow our local people to fly our flag. Why bring a foreigner to fly our flag?
“So nobody should deceive you that Air Nigeria, Air Nigeria must be indigenous, must be wholly Nigeria or must be for the full benefit of Nigerians, not that 60 per cent of the profit is given to another country. How does that benefit us? It remains suspended. It remains so.”
Keyamo also announced that his administration has shifted focus towards assisting and prioritising local airlines.
He explained that this decision was taken to enable Nigeria to fully utilise its bilateral aviation safety agreement
(BASA) agreement rights and take advantage of the newly implemented open skies policy with the United States. This policy, he stated, allows Nigeria to enjoy unrestricted flights to the US, use any aircraft on these routes, and enter through multiple points of entry.
