‘I Am Very Clean’, Ex-Aviation Minister Sirika Speaks On ‘Nigeria Air’ Project

Former Aviation Minister, Senator Hadi Sirika, has dismissed widespread claims that the controversial ‘Nigeria Air’ project initiated under the Muhammadu Buhari administration was a scam, insisting that he was “very clean” from any misdeed.

Sirika said this during an appearance on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, ‘Morning Brief’ on Tuesday.

Sirika maintained that his record in office was clean. “I am a very clean man. I have worked with people. The government has every instrument at their disposal to find (out) my character,” he said.

Sirika insisted that the national carrier project was conceived as a genuine public-private partnership (PPP) initiative, fully regulated and certified by the Infrastructure Concessioning Regulatory Commission (ICRC).

“It is a public-private partnership which was regulated by the Infrastructure Concessioning Regulatory Commission who gave certificates, participated actively in the process,” Sirika said. “It is a lie that I spent N100 billion and it is lost in the process. The total budget for the national carrier was N5 billion, the total amount released was N3 billion, and I left the ministry with over N1 billion.”

The former minister also disclosed that he intended to publish a book on his years in public office, noting, “I had no intention to speak about my time in office for now, I intend to bring up a book.”

The ‘Nigeria Air’ project was unveiled in the final months of the Buhari administration, drawing criticism from many Nigerians who described the exercise as fraudulent. The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) strongly opposed the initiative and dragged the Federal Government to court over the matter.

Since leaving office in 2023, Sirika has faced multiple corruption allegations. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting him over alleged abuse of office and contract fraud. The anti-graft agency accused Sirika of awarding multi-billion naira contracts to companies owned by his family members, including his daughter, Fatima Sirika, and son-in-law, Jalal Hamma.

Specifically, the EFCC alleged that Sirika split a N2.7 billion aviation contract to bypass regulatory approval, awarding part of it to Al Buraq Global Investment Limited, a company allegedly controlled by his relatives, which purportedly received N1.3 billion for an unexecuted aviation project.

When asked if his recent visit to the Presidential Villa was to secure a “soft landing” over his trial, the former minister declined to comment directly, stressing that the matter was subjudice.

“Unfortunately, this matter is in court of law and it is not a matter that should be subjected to the press,” he said. “The purpose of the meeting was to officially pay our condolences to the President who did extremely well after the demise of our leader, President Muhammadu Buhari. Also, to appreciate him for what he has done and to assure him of the support of our party for which he is our leader.”