Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo Describes ‘Nigeria Air’ as Fraud, Affirms Suspension

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has labeled the ‘Nigeria Air’ project, unveiled by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, as a fraud and confirmed its continued suspension.

Speaking at the Ministerial Sectorial update in Abuja on Monday, Keyamo detailed the issues surrounding the national carrier project, which he said was marred by secrecy and fraudulent activities.

He emphasized that the project, which was supposed to be an indigenous initiative to inspire hope among Nigerians, was anything but.

“It was never Air Nigeria; it was Ethiopian trying to fly our flag. It was not Air Nigeria. That is the truth. It was not Nigeria. It only printed Air Nigeria.

It was an Ethiopian airline trying to fly our flag. If it is so, why not allow our local people to fly our flag? Why bring a foreigner to fly our flag?” Keyamo questioned.

He further argued that Air Nigeria should be fully indigenous and benefit Nigerians entirely, rather than giving 60 percent of the profits to another country.

“How does that benefit us? It remains suspended. It remains so,” he affirmed.

Highlighting steps taken to improve economic development in the aviation sector, Keyamo announced the resumption of cargo flights to Saudi Arabia, which had been suspended for a long time.

He noted that this would enable Nigeria to tap into the $6 trillion global cargo market.

“We have agreed that we’re going to resume cargo flights between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia. This has been suspended for a long time but now cargo flights are back.

“Guess what? Air cargo trade accounts for 35 percent of the world trade deficit and air cargo trade, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), attracts about $6 trillion annually, and we’re missing out on many routes around the world. We have achieved that,” Keyamo stated.