Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and
Aerospace Development, has criticized the 'Nigeria Air' project introduced by
former President Muhammadu Buhari's administration, labeling it fraudulent and
confirming its suspension.
During the Ministerial Sectorial update in
Abuja on Monday, Keyamo detailed the flaws of the project, intended to be a
national carrier that would inspire hope among Nigerians. Instead, he described
it as shrouded in secrecy and marred by fraudulent activities.
Keyamo clarified, "It was never Air
Nigeria, it was Ethiopian trying to fly our flag. It was not Air Nigeria. That
is the truth. It was not Nigeria. It only printed Air Nigeria. It was an
Ethiopian airline trying to fly our flag. If it is so, why not allow our local
people to fly our flag? Why bring a foreigner to fly our flag?"
He emphasized that Air Nigeria should be an
indigenous project, wholly Nigerian, benefiting Nigerians fully, rather than
giving 60 percent of the profits to another country. "It remains
suspended. It remains so," Keyamo asserted.
On the aviation sector's economic
development, Keyamo highlighted the resumption of cargo flights to Saudi
Arabia, which had been suspended for some time. He noted that this move would
allow Nigeria to tap into the $6 trillion global cargo market.
"We have agreed that we’re going to
resume cargo flights between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia. This has been suspended
for a long time but now cargo flights are back. Air cargo trade accounts for 35
percent of the world trade deficit and, according to the International AirTransport Association (IATA), attracts about $6 trillion annually. We were
missing out on many routes around the world, and now we have achieved
that," Keyamo explained.
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