Nnaji debunked Sirika’s claim; Air Peace CEO ask Tinubu to immediately dissolve Nigeria Air, says management of airline skewed in favour of Ethiopia
The former Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika on Sunday while responding to the controversy surrounding Nigeria Air made some allegations one of which was that the Chairman of the House Committee on Aviation Nnolim Nnaji asked for 5% shares of Nigeria Air to be given to him in an attempt to discredit Nnaji’s earlier assertion that Nigeria Air is a Fraud.
Sirika stated that he had rejected Nnaji’s request because the bidding process for Nigeria Air at the time was over but that the 5% held by the federal government will eventually go to the market and that he could present his bid at that time.
But the Chairman of the house committee on Aviation Nnolim Nnaji has debunked the claim. In a statement released on Sunday, Nnaji stated that Sirika is a drowning man, struggling to grab anything on his way to survive the barrage of attacks he has been receiving since his controversial unveiling ceremony of the so called Nigeria Air.
Nolim added that it is not strange that Sirika came up with the spurious allegations against him, because he had remained consistent in demanding that the minister followed due process.
The minister has come under fire on social media for admitting during the interview, that the Aircraft brought into Nigeria was a chartered Ethiopian Aircraft, when in actual fact, he previously claimed during a report that Three Aircrafts were purchased by Nigeria Air and that one out of the three purchased would arrive the country ahead of the said unveiling ceremony.
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Allen Onyema has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to dissolve Nigeria Air launched at the twilight of the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The airline launched to serve as Nigeria’s national carrier has an ownership structure of 49 per cent held by Ethiopian Airlines, 46 per cent by Nigerian private investors (SAHCO, MRS and other institutional investors), and five per cent by the federal government.
But Onyema while speaking on Arise TV on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, faulted the shareholding arrangement of the airline, describing it as a charade.
The Air Peace CEO said the leadership of the entire management of the airline is skewed in favour of Ethiopia.
“When you look at this Nigeria Air thing, look at the shareholding, I have it here, the shareholding agreement, without SAHCO, Nigeria would have been in trouble.
“The leadership of the entire management, the DFO, the CEO, all the management positions the headship, Ethiopia, deputies, Nigeria, Then, look at the shareholding in Ethiopia 49%. There’s a company called Fairfax, who is this Fairfax? It’s another (company) owned by an Ethiopian. They are transaction advisers and they’re going to get 3%. They’re going to get 1.45% of the shareholding capital, which is put at around 250 million. Ethiopia will bring 122 million but not as cash but as rentals.
Onyema further condemned the shareholding arrangement which permits Ethiopia to earn 49% of the venture without contributing a penny to the enterprise.
It is only the Nigerian companies that are going to bring money, SAHCO and MRS. I have it here, the document is written here”.
“Ethiopia is not bringing a penny into Nigeria. Ethiopia will pay rentals for their own plane, it is written here in black and white, pay for rentals for their own plane for five years. So even if they pay they pay the N122 million, Air Peace alone is worth over $2 billion. As I speak to you, Boeing is in my office now for the delivery of our 737 Max, which is costing over a billion dollars. Ethiopia is bringing nothing and they’re going to earn 49% of your country’s wealth, I call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately dissolve this charade called Nigeria Air and start his own thing”.
Earlier, the House of Representatives had described the purported launch of Nigeria Air as a fraud.
