The Federal Government on Friday took delivery of the first plane of the country’s national carrier, Nigeria Air, amid protest from local airline operators that it was contrary to a court order, which barred the government from taking further action on the project.
The government received a Boeing 737 aircraft which flew into Abuja from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in readiness for the commencement of local flights.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, in Abuja, the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, claimed that “no law stops development in Nigeria” in response to airline operators’ claim that the government action was in disobedience to a court order.
The minister noted that the delivery of Nigeria Air was an indication that the country would achieve great things in the aviation industry.
According to Sirika, Nigeria Air Limited is a private sector-led airline, with only five per cent of the company owned by the government, adding that the rest is owned by a consortium of entrepreneurs in Nigeria and entrepreneurs in the Ethiopian Airlines consortium, which had been in the pipeline since 2016.
“There were challenges, but we did not allow them to make us lose focus, and today we are here,” Sirika said. “We pray that it will be good for our country, its people, its future, and humanity.”
Sirika also addressed concerns about ongoing litigation, insisting that the launch of Nigeria Air Limited was not sub judice
He said that the constitution of Nigeria allowed the government to continue bringing developmental projects to the people and that the focus on aviation was essential to the country’s economic growth.
“In the process of establishing an airline, there are conditions set by the regulator, which is the NCAA. So, this airplane will be here and we will commence the demonstration flight to show that we can do it.
“It is normally around 0-40 hours but it can be less. It can be five or even two hours and this is to ensure that we are able and have the capacity to do it,” the minister said.
According to him, Nigeria Air is targeting the 35 aircraft mark, but it has to be gradual to achieve it.
“You don’t come in one day to dump the airplanes and you don’t come in one day and start going to London. So, it is a gradual process and the aircraft will be coming after another until the five years that we reach the 35 aircraft mark,” he asserted.
Meanwhile, Airline Operators of Nigeria faulted the launch of the project in the last day of the current administration, arguing that it was a violation of court orders on status quo ante.
AON described the unveiling of the national carrier as a last-minute disobedience of court order, an attempt to muddle the water through a phantom project, and an effort to “rubbish” the Buhari administration.
A lawyer to the AON, Abubakar Nuhu Ahmad of the Nureini Jimoh (SAN) Chambers, in a memo to the Attorney General of the Federation, on Thursday, drew attention to the pending suit number: FHC/L/CS/2159/2022, challenging the “shady deals, deliberate infraction of the Nigerian laws and self-enrichment/corruption,” against the Federal Ministry of Aviation on the Nigeria Air project
Ahmad said that in the said suit, the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos headed by Justice A.L Allagoa, granted three separate orders of injunctions, restraining the Federal Government from taking any step about the Nigeria Air project.
He noted that while the administration would hand over on Monday, May 29, 2023, “the Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, is planning to circumvent the court orders on Friday, May 26, 2023, being the last working day of this administration, and possibly to cover up the various infractions of Nigerian laws, amongst others.
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