The controversial Nigeria Air project is still on hold, according to the Federal Government, as Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, awaits President Bola Tinubu’s decision on the project.
In response to Ethiopian Airlines’ most recent statement on the subject, Tunde Moshood, Special Assistant to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, reaffirmed the government’s position on Monday.
“They can say, whatever they like, but as far as we are concerned the project is under suspension and the Honourable minister is awaiting Mr President’s verdict on it. They can say what they like but our current position on the matter is what I just said to you,” Moshood said while reacting to the Ethiopian national carrier’s comment on the matter.
Mesfin Tasew, the CEO of Ethiopian Airlines Group, informed the Ethiopian Tribune last week that the Nigerian government had lost interest in the project.
“The Nigerian government has lost interest in partnering with a foreign airline,” Tasew said.
Barely two months had passed since the Federal Government had reiterated that the contentious Nigeria Air project would remain suspended indefinitely before Ethiopian Airlines made its statement.
Keyamo had already slammed the Ethiopian Airlines agreement as unjust to Nigerian airlines, claiming it would be reckless on the part of the Federal Government to permit a foreign company to monopolise Nigeria’s aviation sector, endangering the expansion of regional companies.
On July 18, 2018, the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari revealed the Nigeria Air project, which aims to bring back the long-gone Nigerian Airways.
Keyamo stated in August 2023 that the national carrier project would be put on hold until further notice, emphasising that he owed the Nigerian people and the government an honest evaluation.
The ownership structure of the project, which offered Ethiopian Airlines a 49 percent equity participation, raised concerns among stakeholders nationally only three days before Buhari’s presidency came to an end.
Three Nigerian investors held 46% of the shares, with the Federal Government owning the remaining 5%.
But after two months, because of doubts about its viability and relevance, it was put on hold. The airline was estimated to have $300 million in take-off expenses and $8.8 million in preliminary costs.
After agreeing to a structure wherein they would hold a 49 percent interest, the Federal Government would hold five percent, SAHCOL would hold fifteen percent, and other investors would hold thirty-one percent, Ethiopian Airlines won the contract to manage Nigeria Air in 2022.
In response to the agreement in June 2023, the House of Representatives called the project “a fraud” and requested that the Federal Government halt the Nigeria Air project.
