No local airline will be Nigeria’s national carrier – Keyamo

No local airline will be named the Nigerian national carrier, according to Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo, who said that doing so would be unfair to other local airlines.

Keyamo made this statement on Wednesday during an interview with Politics Today on Channels TV.

Rather than encouraging a local airline to become a flag carrier, he said his ministry was working on creating a legitimate national carrier.

"I will push for one national carrier and I am working on one," declared the minister. Let me state this clearly up front: no local airline will operate as a flag carrier or a national carrier.

Therefore, it would be unfair to all the local operators if someone believes that I am trying to push one to become a flag carrier. I am stating this as a matter of policy.

"I will not designate any local airline as a national carrier. We intend to establish a legitimate national carrier, and we are already receiving conversations on this from the Chinese, Arabs, and Americans.

He questioned why his outgoing president had given the option any thought.

Why did we settle for this when there were better offers on the table? We will delve into the nuances of the proposed agreement if you give me an hour," he said.

Hadi Sirika, the country's minister of aviation, controversially established Nigeria Air as the nation's national carrier during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Unresolved were the issues surrounding Nigeria Air, with Keyamo adamant that the deal did not serve the interests of the country.

"A flag carrier is not the same as a national carrier. When we were informed that a national carrier was on its way, it was actually a foreign airline attempting to fly the Nigerian flag," said Keyamo.

He added that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is still looking into the contentious deal through criminal investigations.

Sirika was asked to appear before the House of Representatives last year regarding the contentious National Air Carrier.
"The House is aware that the previous administration spent billions of naira ostensibly to acquire the said new national carrier," Dickson stated. "However, despite the project utilising billions of taxpayer funds, the status of the project remains unclear."

Thus, the House decided to ask Sirika to brief the Committee on Aviation on the project's status at the time he turned it over and to share his knowledge on a variety of issues and accusations related to the project.