Nigerian Air Will Fly Before Buhari Leaves Office, Sirika Insists

Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, has insisted that Nigeria Air will fly before the tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari ends.

He said this Wednesday while fielding questions from State House reporters after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Sirika said all arrangements had been put in place for the take-off of the national carrier.

When asked if Nigeria Air was still feasible about one month to the end of the administration, the minister said: “Nigeria Air Limited, I did say that we will get it going before the end of this administration and I have not withdrawn my words. We have everything in place, the aircraft are in place, the offices, operational centres, the staffing and everything that we need to have in place. We’re doing the last-minute checks and waiting for the issuance of the AOC and it will fly.

“It will fly, it will be for the benefit of this country, for the size of population, the travelling public and what it does to the economy, especially to tourism, to African integration and to the AU Agenda 2063. It’s a very important project and I must say it will happen before the end of our tenure in the next four weeks and two days.”

On February 19, the president had met with Girma Wake, Ethiopian Airlines Board Chairman, during which they exchanged views on the operationalization of Nigeria Air.

Wake had at the meeting in Addis Ababa requested a resolution of the legal obstacle halting Nigeria Air, in which Ethiopian Airlines has 49 per cent stake, from commencing operations.

He had said the airline and its partners were ready to commence operations on Nigeria Air as soon as all the court matters are resolved.

The domestic airline operators had under the aegis of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) challenged the equity structure of the airline which cedes 49 per cent stake to Ethiopian Airlines with federal government having only 5 per cent while the remaining 46 per cent is for Nigerian investors.

On the strike by the aviation workers, Sirika said: “Nigerian aviation workers are striking principally for three reasons. One, they said the conditions of service for the agencies. Two is minimum wage implementation and three, they’re talking about the demolition of the headquarters or the office of FAAN in Lagos.

“Condition of service is not in our hands, it’s in the Salaries and Income Wages. I personally as the Minister went there with the union three times to fast track that process. So that’s being looked at by the appropriate authority and I think they are fast tracking it. On the implementation of the minimum wage, that also Accountant General’s Office, Ministry of Finance and the agency concerned are working hard to ensure that that happens.

“Lastly on the demolition of the FAAN headquarters to erect offices, shopping malls and make it what you see when you travel abroad. That is also ongoing. If you ask me, make me an omelet, you can complain that I’m breaking your egg, that’s a quotation from one of the Managing Directors of FAAN, but that said, I think it’s been overhyped, taken out of context.

“Certainly, the FAAN building was there, even before Egbon Lai Mohammed joined the FAAN. So, it was a transit camp, the FAAN office is transit camp for the people that built the airport, it’s made out of wood and some panels as a makeshift office and this is what FAAN has been using on a very prime property and it’s not befitting for the FAAN Lagos office, it’s only waste of space, and it caught fire twice, once during our administration.

“So, we thought that that place should leave so that we can erect offices, shopping malls, cinemas, and the rest of it. Airports are no longer places where you take over land. You all go to Dubai, you all go to other places and see how they are, so certainly and definitely government would remove those wood structures, housing FAAN’s office now and erect among the aerotropolis components; offices, shopping malls, hotels, car parks and the rest of it, befitting of the nation, Nigeria and befitting of the city of Lagos.”