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Former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika has disclosed that the national carrier, Nigeria Air recently launched, was not unveiled by the federal government of Nigeria but by the national carrier’s shareholders.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Sirika, who made the disclosure when he appeared on Arise TV on Sunday, also made a damning revelation about the Chairman of House Committee on Aviation, Nnolim Nnaji, accusing him of asking for 5 percent of Nigerian Air.
Recall that during a hearing by the House of Representatives, Chairman of the House Committee on Aviation had declared the launch of Nigeria Air a fraud. Nnaji had picked holes in the project, criticising the federal government for what he described as poor handling. He said after careful evaluation of the matter, his committee was dissatisfied with the actions of Sirika.
However, reacting, the former Aviation Minister said: “On the issue of Hon Nnaji who called Nigeria Air launch a fraud, I will respond now. I will say exactly what I told him in private when we spoke. Hon Nnaji asked me that I should give him 5% of Nigeria 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.
“He asked me that please I should give him 5 percent of Nigeria Air to carry him along with his people. I said to him that time that look, Honourable, but he did not understand me, this is a bidding process that has taken place and some persons won. So, I think he should go to those people and asked them about the 5 per cent”.
The former Minister of Aviation, speaking further on the controversial Nigeria Air project, said that only N3 billion was released for the project and that the funds were spent on consultative services, stressing that the N3 billion had not been fully expended before he left the office on May 29.
Sirika explained that the government did not pay for the chartered Ethiopian aircraft showcased as Nigeria Air, which he said was brought by Ethiopian Airlines to demonstrate commitment to the project.
He denied the allegation of spending N85 billion on the project, emphasizing that only N5 billion was budgeted and not all of the N3 billion released was expended during his tenure.
Sirika revealed that the federal government released only N3 billion for the Nigeria Air project in the last 7 years.
According to him, the total money budgeted for the project since 2018 was N5 billion, out of which N3 billion had been disbursed.
This is even as he declared that the country did not pay a dime for the Chartered Ethiopian Aircraft showcased a few days before President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration ended.
“From 2016 to 2023, all the money voted and budgeted for Nigeria Air is N5 billion. But all that was released was in the neighbourhood of N3 billion, not N85 billion, and not all of the N3 billion has been expended as of the time I left office.
“What has been done with the money is nothing but to get special advisory services, the AOC processes, salaries, consultive services, and the maintenance of the office in Abuja.
“No contract was awarded by Hadi Sirika, these are the things the money was used for. And there is the Freedom of Information Act, people can apply and get all the information about what the money has been used for.
“The N85 billion being mentioned is only in the imagination of the people carrying it about,” Hadi Sirka said.