The Nigerian government, led by President Bola Tinubu, announced on Monday the indefinite suspension of the ‘Air Nigeria’ project, News About Nigeria reports.
The decision was revealed by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace, Festus Keyamo, during a ministerial briefing marking the first year of the Tinubu administration.
Keyamo explained that the airline was never genuinely a Nigerian airline but rather an attempt to impersonate a foreign airline operating in Nigeria.
This clarification followed months of controversy surrounding the airline’s legitimacy and operations.
The plane unveiled by then-President Muhammadu Buhari shortly before he left office was over 10 years old and belonged to Ethiopian Airlines.
Plane Spotters, a platform that tracks aircraft inventories, identified the plane’s mode as S Q4005C and its serial number as 40965/4075.
The Concerned Northern Forum had earlier criticised the ‘Nigeria Air’ launch as a half-baked project driven by lies, deception, and corruption involving billions of naira.
In January, Keyamo revealed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was investigating the controversial Nigeria Air deal.
Former Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika, who served under President Buhari, along with his associates, faced charges related to the deal.
Sirika, his daughter Fatima, his son-in-law Jalal Hamma, and Al-Duraq Investment Limited were arraigned before Justice Sylvanus Oriji of the FCT High Court in Maitama, Abuja.
The court granted each defendant N100 million in bail over allegations of N2.7 billion in fraud.
Justice Oriji also ordered that the defendants be remanded in prison custody if they failed to fulfil their bail conditions and prohibited them from travelling abroad without the court’s permission.
The EFCC charges stem from an alleged N2.7 billion contract fraud uncovered in the aviation ministry during Sirika’s tenure and the administration of former President Buhari.
