Sirika Speaks On Nigeria Air Unveiling, Says Project Gulped Only N3bn

The immediate past minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika has  said the federal government has spent less than N3 billion on the Nigeria Air project so far.

The former minister, who stated this while he appeared on a TV programme on Sunday, said the total money budgeted for the project in the last seven years was N5 billion out of which only N3 billion has so far been released.

Sirika further said the bulk of the money has been spent on consultancies, salaries and administrative costs, stating that the N85 billion being brandished as purportedly spent on Nigeria Air is false and baseless.

On the total money for the establishment of the Nigeria Air, the minister said the total market capitalization is $200 million out of which all shareholders will pay according to their shares.

He explained that Ethiopian Airlines owns 49 per cent, MRS owns 31 per cent, SAHCO owns 15 per cent while federal government owns 5 per cent.

The former minister also made it clear that no amount has been paid in cash by any shareholders as the signing of the agreement is ongoing.

On the monies spent by the federal government already, he explained that they would be used as the five per cent and if they are above, the federal government will get a refund. 

He also said Nigerian Air won’t enjoy any special tax privileges as all the taxes other airlines are expected to pay will be the same taxes Nigeria Air will be paying.

The minister also accused the chairman of House Committee  on Aviation, Hon. Nnaji Nnoli of asking for 5 per cent shares of the airline for him and his people. 

The minister said Nnoli approached him for five per cent for him and is people (which could be fellow committee members or family members) and he told him to approach the shareholders to buy the shares as the federal government is not the owner of the airline. 

On the fire fighting trucks, the former minister confirmed the price of N12 billion for the 10 fire fighter trucks. 

He stated that each of the trucks cost N1.2billion and the federal government had ordered for it three years earlier to be built on Nigeria’s specifications.

“From 2016 to 2023, all of the money voted and budgeted for Nigeria Air is N5 billion. But all that was released was in the neighborhood 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, consultative 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.”  

The minister, however, admitted that the Ethiopian aircraft that was showcased as the success of the project was chartered.

“The AOC owned by Ethiopian Airline is known to Nigeria and the NCAA. They are permitted to come in either with scheduled passengers, chattered or cargo. They have to come in under one of the 3. So, they came as chartered. Being chartered does not mean that anybody paid for anything. The government did not pay a dime for that aircraft to come in.”  

“Secondly, there was no revenue passenger in the aircraft because that would have been totally against the law and wouldn’t have been allowed. It was their own marketing strategy as equity partners. They came to do this unveiling on a special allowance called chartered and it does not mean that we paid for it. If anybody was to pay for it, it would have been the Ethiopian Airline, not the Nigerian government. No penny was paid,” the former Minister said.