The House of Representatives has declared as fraud, the purported launch of Nigeria Air at the twilight of the immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari.
Nnolim Nnaji, the chairman of the House Committee on Aviation, declared the launch of Nigeria Air a fraud after the major stakeholders in the deal between the Federal Government and Ethiopian Airlines denied knowledge of the launch.
The Ministry of Aviation claimed Nigeria Air was only unveiled and not launched, which the committee dismissed as an attempt to divert the lawmakers’ attention.
Members of the committee were shocked when NAMA disclosed that the aircraft bearing Nigerian colours was on a chartered flight to Nigeria, saying a chartered flight could be painted in any colour and with any inscriptions.
The Informant247 had reported that Hadi Sirika, the former Minister of Aviation, in the last minutes to the end of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure, unveiled Nigeria Air aircraft.
Sirika unveiled Boeing 737 aircraft with registration ET-APL at the Nigeria Air Operations control centre of the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja.
The ex-Minister, while disclosing that the demonstration flight would commence soon as part of the procedure to commence operations fully, noted that more aircraft are expected to arrive until the airline reaches the 35-aircraft mark in the next five years.
Sirika also said no law stops the ministry or anybody from bringing developmental growth to the country.
He said: “This is one infrastructure that has been missing in general aviation in dynamics of the country; the airline that is equal to the size of dynamics of the market in Nigeria for its geography and fortune, indeed, we do need the kind of infrastructure that we are having today in the name of Nigeria Air limited.
“This Nigeria Air Limited is obviously an entity known to Nigerian laws and the partnership between entrepreneurs in Nigeria and entrepreneurs in the Ethiopia Airline consortium.
“The consortium is a company belonging to many partners and it is a very long journey, we started in 2016 and ended up today.
“There were challenges but we did not allow them to make us lose focus and today we are here. We pray that it will be good for our country, its people, its future, and humanity.”
On the litigation and if his action amounts to subjudice, he said: “It is not subjudice because if it is, we are not going to embark upon it. No law stops us from continuing to bring developmental projects to our people.