The House of Representatives has called upon the Minister, Festus Keyamo and former Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika to shed light on the National Carrier Project.
This request, as gathered by Quest Times, aims to uncover the project’s current status, controversies, and surrounding allegations.
In addition to Keyamo and Sirika, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has been invited to brief the Committee on Aviation about the Nigeria Air Carrier Project and its certifications.
The House has also sought insights from eight local airlines and their associations to gain a comprehensive understanding of the entire project.
These actions stemmed from a motion put forth by Dickson Tarkighir (APC, Benue) during Thursday’s plenary.
Tarkighir highlighted that in 2016, Sirika proposed an aviation roadmap with a national carrier as its flagship project, intending to deliver it before the end of the previous administration.
Moreover, he expressed concerns about the lack of clarity regarding the project’s status, despite substantial taxpayer funds allocated to it in the last administration.
“Aware that the last administration spent billions of naira ostensibly to acquire the said new National Carrier but the status of the project remains unclear regardless of billions of taxpayers; funds utilized on the project.
“Worried that if the negative trend is not investigated, it may lead to issues with accountability and continue to be a recurring expenditure item in the federal budget,” he added.
To address this, the House has mandated the aviation supervisory committees to conduct a forensic audit of the Nigeria Air process within four weeks, so as to ensure accountability and prevent ongoing financial concerns.