Nigeria’s hope of having a new national carrier anytime soon may be dashed as LEADERSHIP Weekend investigations have shown that internal scuffle between the planning team is threatening the whole process. It was gathered that there is no clear-cut decision on whether or not to establish a national carrier at the moment. Findings show that since last year, the minister of state for aviation had always said the “national carrier will commence soon,” however, some experts’ projections show that the commencement of the national carrier will take time since there are no aircraft and no personnel on ground for the commencement of the national carrier.
LEADERSHIP Weekend reports that while addressing journalists in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, recently, the minister of state for aviation, Hadi Sirika, had said Nigeria would soon have a privately-owned national carrier. Sirika spoke at the sidelines of the 30th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU).
He said the government would provide an “enabling environment and support”, and would take advantage of the Single Air Transport Market launched by the African Union. He said apart from Nigerian entrepreneurs, the African Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank and the Chinese Exim Bank, as well as countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Rwanda, Namibia and Niger Republic, would participate in the initiative. “We are very close to having a national carrier at the moment. We are at the stage of transaction services. We have affiliations, which will be dealt with. I hope, within this week, you will hear from me on where we are. It will be soon,” he said.
Sirika added that he had been holding discussions with several bodies regarding the establishment of a national carrier for Nigeria and that once everything is concluded “the prices of tickets and the efficiency of service will be much better”. However, while speaking with LEADERSHIP Weekend, a worker at the ministry, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said in as much as there are plans to kick-start the national carrier, internal scuffle on the basis of appointment is threatening to delay the project. According to our source, after appointing a foreign transaction adviser, the Nigeria government also appointed Nigerian team to work with him. This appointment, our source noted, did not go down well with the foreign adviser, who insisted on appointing his team from Nigeria by himself and threatened to withdraw his services if government did not yield to his demand. Our source further noted that this situation stalled all plans for the national carrier for now, and except one side agrees to shift ground, plans for a national carrier coming into being soon are under threat.
LEADERSHIP Weekend recalls that this was what played out in January 2017 when the minister promised that Nigeria will have a viable national airline before the end of 2017. Sirika said the project would be private-sector driven and that the federal government may only own three percent of the airline, a promise yet to be fulfilled. On the aircraft proposed, the federal government had said that two major internationally renowned aircraft manufacturers, Airbus and Boeing, had indicated interest in Nigeria’s national carrier.
Sirika explained that the manufacturers had expressed willingness to discuss their interest with the government. In a tweet on his Twitter handle, @hadisirika, the minister said, “Boeing said they can’t wait to discuss their proposal for the Nigerian national carrier).” In another tweet, he stated, “Airbus signified interest in our national carrier and our MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul). Will discuss further during the upcoming ICAO forum.” Meanwhile, as the plan to commence a national carrier in the country by the federal government gathers momentum, stakeholders in the nation’s aviation sector have urged the authorities to thread with caution so that the new plan would be successful at the end of the day.
Foremost aviator and president of Aviation Safety Roundtable Initiative (ASRTI) , Mr Gbenga Olowo, has equally prescribed necessary and sufficient conditions for efficient and reliable flag carriers which, he advised, may not necessarily be named national carrier. In a chat with LEADERSHIP Weekend yesterday, Olowo stated that a sizeable aircraft fleet that would guarantee undisrupted schedule and maintenance of airport slot was required by Nigeria, along with a minimum fleet of 20 at a growth rate of five per annum in the first five years. Olowo pointed out that South African Airways, a much smaller country, parades a fleet of 52 aircraft and warned that if the authorities were not ready to provide the needful, the carrier should not commence International operations in order not disgrace the flag.
The aviation expert stated that for the proposal to work effectively, there is also urgent need for good liquidity that would guarantee payment of bills when due.
Source: leadership.ng
