……the project is only suspended, it has not been killed….Sirika
The Minister of state for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika says it is not true that the National carrier project did not have interested and ready investors.
This is coming on the heels of the explanation given by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed for the suspension of the project.
In Alhaji Lai’s words, if the understanding of government at the beginning that the project that the project will either be self financing or that the project would be financed by her investors and it turns out that such a project can no longer be financed by investors either because they are not forthcoming or that such venture can no longer be viable, the government, this administration would take a rethink…”
Lai also added that,” now, the business of government in business is to provide enabling environment and it is not to become the sole source of finance, the sole source of funding and In addition its much more than funding in trying to get our National Carrier……”
However, Sirika noted, with consternation, various opinions, comments and observations in the media regarding the status and the reasons for the recent suspension of the processes leading to the establishment of a Nigerian national carrier.
In a statement, the Deputy Director, Media & Public Affairs in the aviation Ministry James Odaudu says,” among the reasons being bandied around for its suspension, especially in the social media is the absence of interested and ready investors.
This couldn’t be farther from the truth, as the national carrier project has an avalanche of well-grounded and ready investors. These include international finance institutions such as the Afro-Exim Bank, African Development Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, aircraft manufacturers – Airbus and Boeing, airlines such as Ethiopian Airlines, Qatar Air etc. and some reputable individuals and entrepreneurs”.
The office also wants to clarify that the country’s participation at the Farnborough Air Show in the United Kingdom in July was not for the sole purpose of unveiling the Nigeria Air logo as the public is being made to understand. It was also a meeting point with these potential investors who saw the event as another opportunity to market and re-emphasize their interests in the project.
It is also pertinent to clarify that the Federal Executive Council only SUSPENDED the process for the establishment of the national carrier for the time being. The project has not been killed. Theses clarifications have been made in the public interest.