Nigeria Air: Sirika insists national carrier project not dead

The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has once again assured Nigerians that the Federal Government's national carrier project will be reactivated.

The "Nigeria Air" project was indefinitely suspended two years ago only weeks after it was launched with a new logo at the Farnborough International Public Airshow in London.

After appearing before the Senate Committee on Aviation for the 2021 budget defence on Tuesday, October, 28, 2020, Sirika said the project will fully kick off before the end of President Muhammadu Buhari's administration in 2023.

"The transaction adviser has brought in the outline business case. It is being reviewed by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC).

"Soon after its completion, it will go to the federal executive council for approved.

"We will not leave this government without having it in place," Sirika was quoted by TheCable.

The national carrier project divided public opinion with many not convinced about its economic benefits especially in the highly capital intensive airline business.

When Sirika launched the project in 2018, he said it would be private sector-led and driven, noting that the government would not own more than 5%, and would not be involved in running it.

Without a comprehensive explanation, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) decided to suspend the project in September 2018, three months before it had been scheduled to start operations.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, suggested back then that the suspension was due to a lack of investors, a claim dismissed by Sirika who said investors were committed to the project.