By Chinelo Obogo
The Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development has denied reports stating that President Bola Tinubu instructed the newly sworn-in permanent secretary, Dr. Ibrahim Kana, to revive the botched Nigeria Air.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Kana, who was reacting to a quote attributed to him in which he was reported to have said that the President expressly directed him to ensure that the Nigeria Air project with Ethiopian Air be resuscitated, denied receiving such instructions.
Kana said in his inaugural speech, he only referred to the ‘general vision’ of the administration to still consider a national carrier project if it is favourable to the country. He said, “Since my inaugural statement on Monday at the hand-over ceremony, I have been inundated with inquiries about my reference to the revival of the national carrier project.
“For the avoidance of doubt I never said that there is a mandate to revive the botched Nigeria Air deal with Ethiopian airline. I received no such instruction. I was only referring to the general vision of the administration to still consider a national carrier project if it is favourable to the country and under the guidance and directives of Mr. President and the Minister of Aviation. I hope this 8 all the ambiguities surrounding my earlier statement on this issue.
“On a personal note, I pledge absolute loyalty to the Honourable Minister and remain dedicated to working closely with him to drive the Ministry’s agenda forward.”
On Monday, August 5, 2024, a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos granted a perpetual injunction restraining the federal government and anyone acting on their behalf from perfecting, continuing or transferring the operations of Nigeria Air to Ethiopian Air who are the winning bidders. This means that Nigeria Air cannot be run by any bidder until the court decides otherwise.
Justice Lewis Allagoa who ruled in favour of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) in their suit against Nigeria Air and several government agencies, also dismissed objections raised by interveners, Overland and others, and declared the sale of Nigeria Air shares and subsequent operations as unlawful.
The court also gave an order, directing the immediate, fresh and transparent bidding process(es) involving the plaintiffs being the AON which are rightly entitled to participate in the process.
The court also directed the immediate revocation and cancellation of the Air Transport License (ATL) issued by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to Nigeria Air.
In 2022, the AON sued the G to court, listing Nigerian Air, Ethiopian Airlines, the immediate past Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Hadi Sirika, and former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, as defendants.
Among other prayers, the AON asked the court to stop the national carrier deal and withdraw the ATL already issued to Nigeria Air by the NCAA.
They also claimed that the firm which served as transaction adviser for the transaction, was incorporated in March 2022 and alleged that the company was linked to the aviation minister.
The botched national carrier has been a subject of public scrutiny and criticism.