Plans to float Nigeria Air before Buhari leaves office on May 29 appear to be dead in the water

PLANS to float the proposed new national carrier Nigeria Air before the end of President Muhammadu Buhari's tenure on May 29  appear to be in serious jeopardy as negotiations between aviation ministry officials and Ethiopian Airlines have not yielded fruit.

Last month, aviation minister Hadi Sirika, assured Nigerians that Nigeria Air would commence operation before May 29. Speaking at the National Aviation Stakeholders Forum 2023 in Abuja, the minister stated that the national carrier would commence local and international flights before May 29 when President Buhari is due to leave office.

However, aviation pundits have argued that this may be another failed promise from Mr Sirika. It appears that the negotiations between the Nigerian government and a consortium of operators led by Ethiopian Airlines have nit yielded any dividends, so there is no plan for the Federal Executive Council to approve.

Nigeria Air was launched amid a lot of fanfare in 2018 at the Farnborough Air Show in the UK, with the government promising to establish a national carrier that could compete with other successful African airlines. However, the project has been dogged by controversies since it was launched, preventing its take-off.

Back in September 2022, the federal government named the Ethiopian Airlines Consortium as the preferred bidder for Nigeria Air, with Mr Sirika pointing out that Ethiopian Airlines won the bid with a consortium. He noted that only Ethiopian Airlines met the bidding evaluation criteria and it would hold a 49% stake in the venture, while the federal government will only have a 5% equity in the project.

In November 2022, eight local airlines and their association took the government to court, listing Nigerian Air, Ethiopian Airlines, Mr Sirika, and the attorney-general of the federation, Abubakar Malami, as defendants. Among other prayers, the indigenous airlines wanted the court to stop the national carrier deal and withdraw the air transport licence (ATL) already issued to Nigeria Air by the federal government and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.

They also claimed that the firm which served as transaction adviser for the transaction was incorporated in March 2021 and alleged that the company was linked to the aviation minister. They further alleged that ATL issued to Nigerian Air did not pass through the normal security clearance.

According to the airlines, the federal government’s partnership with Ethiopian Airlines on the project will send domestic airlines out of business by opening up the domestic air travel market to a rival. Their case is yet to be heard in court but so far, nothing has come of the talks with Ethiopian Airlines.