Nigeria Air: Trouble For Former Aviation Minister, Sirika, as Prominent Lawyer Demands Immediate Arrest

• Barrister Festus Ogun has called for the arrest of the immediate past minister of aviation, Hadi Sirika
• Ogun said Sirika must be arrested over what he described as the “fraudulent” Nigeria Air launch
• The lawyer called on relevant authorities to swing into action and probe the former minister now that the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Aviation had separately declared that the project was a fraud

FCT, Abuja - Popular constitutional lawyer, Festus Ogun, has called for the immediate arrest of the immediate past minister of aviation, Hadi Sirika, over the purported launch of Nigeria Air.

This was contained in a tweet by the legal practitioner on Wednesday, June 7.

Ogun said Sirika should be arrested as he described the launch of Nigeria Air as a fraud.

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Ogun wrote:

"Immediate past Aviation Minister should be arrested immediately in connection to the fraud that launch of Nigeria Air was."

We chartered aircraft from Ethiopia – Nigeria Air managing director

Recall that the managing director of Nigeria Air, Dayo Olumide, disclosed that the aircraft that landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Friday, May 26, 2023, was a chartered one from Ethiopia Airlines.

Olumide made this known while answering questions from senators on Monday, June 5, adding that it was launched in 2018 and that his own responsibility was to secure an operating certificate for the airline.

Lawmakers declare Nigeria Air launch a fraud

In a similar vein, speaking at an investigative hearing on Tuesday, June 6, with Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) and representatives of the Ministry of Aviation, Nnaji Nnolim, chairman of the House committee on aviation, said the unveiling of Nigeria Air was a fraud, This Day Newspaper reported.

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"Report shows FG spent over N85bn on 'failed' Nigeria Air takeoff, management disagrees and gives own figure

The committee also passed a resolution asking the federal government to suspend the operations of Nigeria Air.

Report shows FG spent over N85bn on 'failed' Nigeria Air takeoff

In a piece of related news, Legit.ng reported that Nigeria, under Muhammadu Buhari's administration, spent a staggering sum of over N85 billion on Nigeria Air, the controversial national carrier, over an eight-year period.

This is according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and Compilation of Budgetary Allocations, between 2016 and 2023.

Source: Legit.ng