Nigerian Air: 70,000 Aviation Jobs Unrealisable – Stakeholders  

Stakeholders in the nation’s aviation industry have worried that the proposed 70,0000 jobs to be provided through the Nigerian Air is vague and not realisable.

The minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, had recently said addition to other benefits, the planned national carrier would create about 70, 000 jobs.

The stakeholders said this on Thursday at the webinar on Nigeria Air: The Solution to Nigeria’s Aviation Problem? facilitated by Avaero Capital Partners.

The stakeholders at the webinar include the former director general of Nigeria Airspace Management Authority (NAMA), Roland Iyayi; the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Nigeria, (AOPN), Alex Nwuba; Chairman of Westlink Airlines, Capt. Ibrahim Mshelia; Member, Aviation Round Table Initiative (ARTI), Olumide Ohunayo among others.

Speaking, the former NAMA boss, said no airline can provide direct or indirect jobs saying the statement by the minister was only said to justify the setting up of the airline.

The stakeholders also queried the shareholding structure of the proposed Nigerian Air.

LEADERSHIP recalls that the federal government had recently selected Ethiopian Airlines (ET) as the equity partner in the proposed Nigeria Air.

ET would hold 49 per cent stake while the federal government holds five per cent and the remaining 46 per cent goes to Nigerian investors.

“The airline will be registered and flagged in Ethiopia that means, then all the technical crew will have Ethiopian licences. That is what is happening to ASKY in Togo. It means no job for our technical crew in the foreseeable future.

There’s no airline that will employ 70,000 people not even for direct or indirect jobs but in anyway, numbers has to be bandied in other to justify the project.”

He said it doesn’t make any strategic sense to enter into a partnership with Ethiopian Airlines.

He said it would have zero value addition to the domestic market in Nigeria in addition to killing the domestic market, describing the partnership with ET as an encouragement of cabotage.

“Nigeria should have studied Ethiopian Airlines’ vision 2025 to dominate the African market. ET has partnerships in eight other African countries. This is part of their vision 2025,” he said.

The Nigeria Air, Iyayi reiterated, is not in the interest of Nigeria and the fact that ET would be calling the shots is an insult to Nigeria.

Mshelia, who said he’s an advocate of a national carrier or a flag carrier, alleged underlining interest in the present set up.

“In so far as there is a hidden interest and no transparency as we have seen, this project is going to suffer and it is going to add to our problems,” he said.

Also speaking, Nwuba said with Ethiopian Airlines having 49 per cent stake in the proposed national carrier, it would be difficult for Nigerian Air to fly intercontinental routes.

Nwuba, a former managing director of Associated Airlines and a pilot, said, “We do not think this is the best thing happening. It is not genuine. We reject it. Nigeria Air will not suffer any fate different from what befell the defunct Virgin Nigeria that could not go to the United States. This is clear in the Bilateral Air Services Agreement regulations.”

The aviation expert also queried why MRS and SAHCOL, listed as private investors in the proposed national carrier, had yet to inform their shareholders via the capital market their decision to invest in Nigeria Air.

“MRS and SAHCOL have yet to put up statements at the capital market to inform shareholders that they will be putting some money in the national airline. This is unethical,” he added.