Senate President Akpabio laments lack of enough private jets to hire for election campaign

At the Senate plenary session on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2026, Senators discussed the struggling Nigerian aviation sector.

In a clip that has circulated online, Senator Tahir Munguno, representing Borno South, moved a motion that the house should use its powers to consider revisiting the defunct Air Nigeria established by former Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika. According to Munguno, the Senate should consider the motion to fix the ailing aviation sector.

Reacting to the motion, Senate President Akpabio presented it to the house, where an overwhelming majority voted against it. Akpabio, while addressing the motion, which he described as a "dead issue", stated that he would be more welcoming of a motion to revive the defunct national carrier that can match the glory days of Nigerian Airways, which used to ferry Nigerians around the globe.

"Somebody should bring a motion that will bring a motion that will enable Nigeria to revive its own airlines. Nigeria should have a Nigerian Airways, and we should have a national carrier with Nigeria's flag," the Senate President said, recalling how the defunct Nigerian Airways used to boast of over 30 carriers that ferried Nigerians around the world.

Akpabio added that the private airlines are struggling to meet local demands, which will increase in December as Nigerians at home and abroad commute for the festive season.

"Watch December and the confusions that even private airlines can't handle. Common campaign, we can't find enough private jets to hire," Akpabio said about the shortage of planes, with a specific look on how it's affecting the political class, especially with the ongoing campaign for the 2027 elections.

The statement has generated reactions online, with Nigerians pointing out the wealth politicians lavish on election campaigns while the country is facing significant economic hardship.

Successful governments have attempted to revisit the issue of having a national carrier, with the latest being the Akpabio-led 10th Senate, which is considering the possibility of reviving the defunct Nigerian Airways. While the possibility of a national carrier is still far from reality, the very consideration will spark concerns over previous failed attempts.

During the administration of late President Muhammadu Buhari, the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, launched Air Nigeria, which was to serve as a national carrier in partnership with Ethiopian Airlines and Nigerian institutional investors.

On May 29, 2023, Sirika staged a high-profile "unveiling" ceremony at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. A Boeing 737-800 aircraft painted in green-and-white Nigerian colours with the Nigeria Air logo touched down, greeted with a ceremonial water cannon salute, and officials celebrated it as the fulfilment of a long-standing promise.

Shortly after the ceremony, investigations showed that the new national carrier was a rented Ethiopian Plane which was painted in Nigerian colours solely for the ceremony.

Shortly after President Bola Tinubu was sworn into office in August 2023, the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo SAN, immediately placed Nigeria Air on indefinite suspension in August 2023. Keyamo stated that the ownership structure heavily favoured Ethiopian Airlines at the expense of Nigeria's national interest and economic sovereignty.

Hadi Sirika has also become the subject of an EFCC investigation over billions of naira appropriated across several national budgets between 2016 and 2023 for the airline's setup. In 2024, Sirika was arrested by the EFCC on multi-count charges relating to procurement fraud, contract splitting, and alleged diversion of public funds earmarked for the Aviation Road Map projects, including the national carrier initiative.