Nigeria’s Former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika has dispelled accusations making the rounds that his ministry expended N85 Billion on the controversial Nigeria Air project.
Sirika stated that between 2016 and 2023, the federal government released only N3 billion for the Nigeria Air project.
Sirika disclosed this while responding during a live programme on Arise TV on Sunday. He stated that the N3 billion had not been fully expended before he left the office on May 29.
In his words,N5 Billion was the total budget for the project since 2016, out of which N3 billion had been released.
The former Minister added that the country did not pay a dime for the Chartered Ethiopian Aircraft showcased a few days before the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s government.
“From 2016 to 2023, all of the money voted and budgeted for Nigeria Air is N5 billion. But all that was released was in the neighborhood of N3 billion, not N85 billion, and not all of the N3 billion has been expended as of the time I left office. What has been done with the money is nothing but to get special advisory services, the AOC processes, salaries, consultive services, and the maintenance of the office in Abuja.
“No contract was awarded by Hadi Sirika, these are the things the money was used for. And there is the Freedom of Information Act, people can apply and get all the information about what the money has been used for. The N85 billion being mentioned is only in the imagination of the people carrying it about.”
He admitted that the Ethiopian aircraft showcased as the success of the project was chartered. He further stated that government did not pay for the aircraft as it was brought by Ethiopian Airlines to demonstrate their commitment to the Nigeria Air project.
“The AOC owned by Ethiopian Airline is known to Nigeria and the NCAA, they are permitted to come in either with scheduled passengers, chattered or cargo. They have to come in under one of the 3. So, they came as chartered. Being chartered does not mean that anybody paid for anything. The government did not pay a dime for that aircraft to come in.
“Secondly, there was no revenue passenger in the aircraft because that would have been totally against the law and wouldn’t have been allowed. It was their own marketing strategy as equity partners. They came to do this unveiling on a special allowance called chartered and it does not mean that we paid for it. If anybody was to pay for it, it would have been the Ethiopian Airline, not the Nigerian government. No penny was paid,” Sirika explained.
Civil society organisations and Accountability groups have demanded the arrest and investigation of the former Minister over allegations of fraud through the Nigeria Air project.
Many have argued that the entire project lacked transparency, others are saying that the last-minute unveiling of an Ethiopian Airline repainted as Nigeria Air was a fraud for which the Minister has to be prosecuted.
Last year, the House of Representatives, Chairman of the House Committee on Aviation, Nnolim Nnaji, had requested that the project be put on hold while investigations be put in place.
Nnaji few days ago branded the launch of Nigeria Air a fraud.
In his response, Sirika accused the lawmaker who branded the National Carrier as fraud of demanding five percent shares of Nigeria Air from him.
Hon. Nnaji expressed his dissatisfaction in the project, and blamed the Federal Government for shoddiness in handling the project.