By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Nigeria Air project of the immediate past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has been suspended by the current government of Mr Bola Tinubu.
The suspension of the national carrier project was carried out by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, who served in the previous administration as the Minister of State for Labour and Productivity.
Speaking during a tour of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos, Mr Keyamo also announced the suspension of the concession of the airports.
He said both the suspension of the Nigeria Air project and the airports’ concession would be halted until further notice.
The Minister said the old terminal of the international airport in Lagos would be shut on October 1 for total repair, directing foreign airlines to relocate to the new terminal.
Recall that a few days before the end of the tenure of Mr Buhari, the federal government concessioned the MMIA and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
The facilities were given to the Corporacion American Airport Consortium as the preferred bidder. The consortium comprises the Corporation American Airports, Mota Engil Africa, and Mota Engil Nigeria.
They were asked to make upfront payments of $8.5 million.
As for the Nigeria Air, it was hurriedly launched by Mr Keyamo’s predecessor, Mr Hadi Sirika, barely three days before the expiration of his tenure on May 29, 2023.
It was later discovered that the plane brought in for the unveiling was a rented Ethiopia Airlines aircraft. The Minister explained that the plane was brought in to show how the name would appear in a real aircraft. After the launch, the plane was flown back to Ethiopia.
Several stakeholders criticised the government for not being transparent with the Nigeria Air project, especially because it was yet to obtain an Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) to commence commercial operations.
Aduragbemi Omiyale