The House of Representatives on Tuesday declared the purported launch of Nigeria Air at the twilight of the administration of former President, Muhammadu Buhari, as fraud.
An anti-corruption advocacy group under the aegies of SecureWorld and Liberty Initiative for Peace (SELIP), had dragged the following Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika, to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), for allegedly using the establishment of the controversial Nigeria Air to perpetrate fraud and commit economic sabotage.
In a petition addressed to the Chairman of the EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, signed by the Executive Director of SELIP, Comrade Mark Adebayo the group said the anti-graft agency should investigate Sirika for “undertaking a venture designed to benefit a few individuals and lead to the eventual collapse of aviation, a critical sector of the Nigerian economy.”
<span;>However, Chairman of the House Committee on Aviation, Nnolim Nnaji, on Tuesday declared the launch of Nigeria Air a fraud after the major stakeholders in the deal between the Federal Government and Ethiopian Airlines denied knowledge of the launch.
The Ministry of Aviation claimed Nigeria Air was only unveiled and not launched, which the committee dismissed as an attempt to divert the lawmakers’ attention.
Members of the committee were shocked when NAMA disclosed that the aircraft bearing Nigerian colours was on a chartered flight to Nigeria.
Other stakeholders who confirmed the disclosure noted that a chartered flight could be painted in any colour and with any inscriptions.