7th June, 2023
By Usman Tanko
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Vanguard for Good Governance, has faulted the description of Nigeria Air as a fraud by the House of Representatives Committee Chairman on Aviation, Hon. Pharmacist Nnolim Nnaji.
The group said this in a statement it issued on Wednesday following statements credited to the Chairman of the House Committee on Aviation about Nigeria Air.
In the statement signed by Alhaji Tosin Adeniyi, its president, the group accused accused Nnaji of de-marketing Nigeria Air in order to please his ‘brothers’, who under the guise of being representatives of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), are desperate to continue to operate “as monopolies in the aviation sector to the detriment of Nigerian passengers continue to suffer from their high ticket prices and poor services.”
Adeniyi said: “We are not fooled by the antics of Hon. Nnolim Nnaji and his co-travelers and alarmists. Their plans to destabilize the government of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose agenda is also to support the creation of a national national carrier will fail,” the group said while accusing Nnaji of using his position as the House Committee Chairman on Aviation to feather his political nest.
“If Nigeria Air does not commence flight operations as scheduled by Quarter 3, 2023, as detailed in a widely circulated document titled, ‘Nigeria Air, The Journey So Far’, Nigerians should hold Nnolim and his co-travelers responsible”.
“We are in support of the setting up of Nigeria Air. We have listened to several stakeholders on the benefits of having a national carrier. This was also detailed in the status update document released by Nigeria Air. The immediate past General Secretary of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Olayinka Abioye,has also listed the gains as follows;
“Nigeria stands to gain in terms of cultural heritage, national pride, job opportunities, and foreign direct investments, among others,”.
“It is surprising that Hon. Nnolim Nnaji will speak of Hadi Sirika, immediate past Minister of Aviation, in such unpleasant terms. This was the same Hon. Nnolim Nnaji that was singing the Honourable Minister’s praises while he was in office for his ministry’s efforts in repositioning the aviation sector, the improvements at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, and at other airports.
“It was during the tenure of Hadi Sirika that the aviation sector in Nigeria experienced tremendous growth. Need we remind Hon. Nnolim Nnaji of who Hadi Sirika is? A former police aircraft engineer, trained pilot, doctorate degree holder in aviation business, former member of the Federal House of Representatives, former Senator, former Minister of State, and Former Minister of Aviation.
“The Acting Managing Director of Nigeria Air, Dapo Olumide, stated the facts during his appearance at the House of Representatives hearing on Wednesday, 6th June, 2023, although he was majorly misquoted, and mischievously too, by a section of the media. We urge Nigerians not to believe the propaganda and false narrative being pushed out by Nnaji. Nigeria Air has published their ‘Nigeria Air, The Journey So Far’ document which chronicles from start to the present all that the people require to know about Nigeria Air. The document is available on Nigeria Air website (www.flynigeriaair.world). It was also published on Page 12 of Daily Trust and page 10 of the Guardian newspaper of Wednesday, 6th June, 2023”.