Embattled former Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika has said that Nigeria spent less than N3 billion on the controversial Nigeria Air project, saying allegations that N85 billion was spent were false and baseless.
Sirika made the assertion on Sunday as a guest on Arise TV news programme.
The ex-minister said that contrary to speculation, less than N3bn budgetary allocation has been made to Nigerian Air since the inception of the project.
He noted that the bulk of the disbursed funds has been expended on consultancies, salaries, and administrative costs associated with setting up the national carrier.
Recall that the national carrier was unveiled 48 hours before the end of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
Nigeria Air supposedly has an ownership structure of 49 percent held by Ethiopian Airlines, 46 percent by Nigerian private investors (SAHCO, MRS and other institutional investors), and five percent by the Federal Government.
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An investigation by independent journalist, David Hundeyin uncovered that the supposed Nigeria Air plane flown into the country to herald the unveiling was a hired aircraft from Ethiopian Airline, repainted and rebranded in Nigeria colours.
The House of Representatives Committee on Aviation subsequently slammed the process leading to the unveiling of Nigeria Air as a “fraud”.
Appearing before the committee, the Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Air, Dapo Olumide confirmed that the aircraft used for the unveiling of Nigeria’s national carrier was a chartered flight from Ethiopian Airlines.
During the TV interview, Sirika confirmed Olumide’s assertion.
However, he said that the cost of chartering the aircraft was not borne by the Nigerian government, noting that unveiling of the single aircraft was a marketing strategy by the Nigeria Air partners.
He said, “It is their own marketing strategy as equity partners that they came to do this unveiling on a special allowance which is called a chartered flight,” the former minister said.
“Chartered does not mean they paid for it. If there is anybody that paid for it, it would have been the Ethiopian Airlines. No penny is paid.
“It was the owners of Nigeria Air, the consortium of the federal government (five percent) that decided to do the unveiling as part of their marketing strategy.
“So it is not the government that was doing the unveiling to start the operations. Not at all. It was them who did it and I was invited.”
Meanwhile, Sirika accused influential figures in the polity of frustrating the Buhari administration’s vision for the project.
He accused the Chairman of the House Committee on Aviation, Nnolim Nnaji of requesting five percent share in the airline for him and his people.
Sirika said he declined the request and directed the lawmaker to the stakeholders.
On the allegation of ‘fraud’, Sirika said, “I will respond now. I will say exactly what I told him (Nnaji) in private when we spoke.
“Hon Nnaji asked me that I should give him 5 percent of Nigeria (Air) to carry him along with his people, and I said to him at that time, Honourable, a bidding process that has taken place, and some people won. So, I think you should go to those people and ask for the 5 percent.
“Let’s be fair, Hon Nnaji didn’t say other members. He said he wants it for himself and his people. His people could his be his family, could be members and it could be leadership. I don’t know, but he insisted on 5 percent. I said that he should relax and approach the owners. That’s exactly what I told him.”