The newly appointed Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo (SAN), has announced the suspension of the controversial Nigeria Air Project and airport concessioning embarked upon by his predecessor, Hadi Sirika, under the immediate-past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Nigeria Air project had raised eyebrows and controversies following the shady manner in which Sirika, the former Minister of Aviation, floated Nigeria Air as the country’s national carrier two days before he left office.
An investigation by the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation into the controversy subsequently revealed that aircraft chattered from Ethiopian Airlines to be unveiled as Nigeria Air.
Similarly, the concession of the Lagos, Abuja, Kano, and Port Harcourt Airports also greeted so much controversy, leading to calls from experts in the aviation sector for their suspension, saying they have no benefit to the sector.
Keyamo, in his maiden visit and a tour of the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, said he has suspended all plans and arrangements concerning the proposed national carrier, Nigeria Air.
On the relocation of foreign airlines to the new Lagos terminal, Keyamo noted that the reason the new Lagos terminal had been underutilized was that it could not take wide-bodied aircraft, saying the airlines would be using the terminal while the government procured big buses to convey passengers.
He also stated that the old international terminal of Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos would be shut down by October 1, 2023, for renovation, even as he said all private hangars like Dominion Hangar, EAN Hangar, and others would be relocated to pave the way for expansion of the new terminal.
“The major complaints have been with the old terminal. That place is an eyesore for Nigerians coming in. The lifts are not working. The passage is unwelcoming, and there is no air conditioner. We have the new terminal, but it cannot be used. It was designed without provision for big planes,” Keyamo stated.
