The Federal Government has no plans to renew the botched Nigeria Air project deal with Ethiopian Airlines.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Dr Ibrahim Kana, in a statement, yesterday, refuted the report that there was a mandate to revive the botched Nigeria Air deal with Ethiopian Airlines.

He said, “I received no such instruction. I was only referring to the general vision of the administration to still consider a national carrier project if it is favourable to the country and under the guidance and directives of the President and the Minister of Aviation.”

Kana explained that his reference was to the administration’s general vision of considering a National Carrier Project, should it prove favourable to Nigeria’s interests.

Any such decision, Kana noted, would be guided by directives from President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Aviation.

Kana pledged absolute loyalty to the minister and to work closely with him to drive the ministry’s agenda forward, adding: “Together, we will ensure that the future of aviation in Nigeria is bright, innovative and reflective of the aspirations of our great nation.”

The controversial Nigeria Air project was the supposed national flag carrier of Nigeria. The name and logo of the airline were unveiled at the Farnborough Air Show in the United Kingdom in July 2018 and was expected to begin operations on 29 May 2023, after it received its first Boeing 737-800 aircraft on 26 May 2023.

However, due to opposition from domestic airlines and issues in obtaining an Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC), it resulted in delays in beginning operations. In August 2023, its parent company, Ethiopian Airlines, announced that the airline would begin operations in October 2023, with a fleet of eight aircraft and 12 wet-leased aircraft from Boeing, until the project landed in court.

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, had said that the project unveiled by the previous administration remains suspended even as he described the project as fraud.

Keyamo, who was part of the Muhammadu Buhari government, noted that the national carrier which was supposed to be an indigenous project and was supposed to spark hope for Nigerians, was trailed by a lot of secrecy and fraudulent activities.

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