Chidi Samuel|
The federal government on Wednesday announced that it has suspended the national carrier project indefinitely.
The federal government’s decision was made public by Hadi Sirika, minister of state for aviation via his twitter handle.
No reason was given by the minister for the decision by the government but it may not be unconnected with criticisms that trailed the ownership structure of the proposed airline when it was unveiled earlier in the year.
Sirika twitted, “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.”
The airline, Nigeria Air, was unveiled in July at the Farnborough International Airshow in London and operations were scheduled to begin in December.
At the unveiling, the minister had said the airline will be managed by private investors with the federal government owning a five per cent stake in the business.
“Nigeria has unfortunately not been a serious player in Aviation for a long time. We used to be a dominant player, through Nigeria Airways, but sadly not anymore,” he said.
“The Nigerian government will not own more than 5% (maximum) of the new national carrier. The government will not be involved in running it or deciding who runs it.”
The Infrastructural Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) had given zero government control as the condition for issuing the public-private partnership certificate.