Federal Government has suspended the national carrier (Nigeria Air) project, Sen. Hadi Sirika, the Minister of State for Aviation has confirmed.
Sirika unveiled the name and logo of the airline named “Nigeria Air” at the Farnborough Air Show in London on July 18.
Speaking to newsmen in his office, on Wednesday, he said the decision was taken at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting for strategic reasons.
He, however did not give details of the “strategic reasons” for the cancellation of the project.
The minister said: “Today, the government at the FEC took decision to suspend the national carrier project till further notice.
“It has nothing to do with pressure from stakeholders and it also not for political reasons. “The decision to come up with national carrier in the first place was as a result of the lack of capacity of the existing carrier to meet demands,” he said.
On the possible thinking of the international interested parties, Sirika said the government had shown serious commitment towards the project, adding that the suspension would not affect government’s credibility before international interested parties.
He had announced that the airline would begin operation in December with an initial capital of $300 million.
Sirika had also stated that the airline would be private sector driven with government controlling only 10 per cent of the equity. (NAN)
Details later: See his tweets below: I regret to announce that the Federal Executive Council has taken the tough decision to suspend the National Carrier Project in the interim. All commitments due will be honoured. We thank the public for the support as always.???????????? — Hadi Sirika (@hadisirika) September 19, 2018
