Amaechi, Sirika, Lai Mohammed may rekindle Nigeria Air’s hide and seek game
Tracking back to last week’s screening session of the immediate past Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika at the Senate, he promised to revisit the suspended floating of new national carrier tagged Nigeria Air if reappointed to handle the same aviation portfolio by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Addressing journalists after his screening, he assured that “Should Mr President deems it fit that I go to transportation in order to oversee aviation, if that is his wish, I will continue with that good job.
“I believe that having a very vibrant private sector-led national carrier is good for the economy of Nigeria. It is good for the population of Nigeria; it is also good for the centrality of Nigeria; it is good for the wealth and fortune of Nigeria.
“One airplane in Nigeria is equal to 300 direct jobs to start with. The relationship between the Gross Domestic Product and air transportation is direct and we have the biggest GDP in Africa. By the United States estimation, we are a trillion dollar GDP; by official figures of the National Bureau of Statistics, we are half a trillion dollar GDP.
Sirika also averred that “We are at the centre of the world. We are highly mobile travelling people and this is why the prices of tickets are expensive; it is because we don’t have an alternative. We cannot match them; whatever they give, we have to take. It is capitalism; we cannot run away from it.
“If it is me or whoever is the minister, I think that this is a priority we will take, thank God a lot of job has been done.”
Though the former Minister failed to itemize the jobs he was referring to that have been done before he left office, analysts recalled that he was literarily alone in the unveiling of Nigeria Air at the London Air Show.
Business Hilights recalls that shortly after the unveiling of Nigeria Air, there were disquiet amongst indigenous aviation stakeholders on why the scheme was being driven without any kind of involvement with local players.
Besides, Nigerians were further taken aback by the official silence of the other ministers especially the Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi.
Some months after, the returning Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, opened up at a function in Lagos, revealing that what frustrated Nigeria Air dream was the discovery by the government that earlier foreign investors who had shown interests suddenly developed cold feet.
Corroborating Mohammed’s view, Amaechi, who spoke on Nigeria Air for the first time during his valedictory press conference, revealed further that Nigeria Air received discordant voices at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting and as such was suspended because there were more questions on the plan than answers.
But in a swipe, Sirika fired back at Amaechi even after the dissolution of the cabinet, claiming that there was nothing like discordant voices on Nigeria Air at the FEC meetings and that the earlier investors are still interested contrary to the statements made by Lai Mohammed.
Only recently, another strange angle was opened by the CEO of Ethiopian Airline, Mr Tewolde Gebremariam, who said he was in Abuja in continuation of discussions with the Ministry of Aviation on how to partner with Nigeria to float Nigeria Air once more.
Whereas it was not clear if it Sirika was referring to the latest Ethiopian Airlines plan of action for Nigeria Air or another line of action that is only known to him.
Analysts have continued to express fears that Nigeria may lose out in the transportation and logistics segment of AfCFTA considering lack of any national carrier be it airline of shipping fleet.
