Keyamo confirms EFCC’s investigation of failed Nigeria Air deal

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, said on Wednesday the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has started an investigation into the Nigeria Air deal sealed by his predecessor, Hadi Sirika.

The former minister has been roundly condemned by many in the country over the poor handling of the Nigeria Air project.

The national carrier was unveiled by Sirika and other stakeholders in the aviation industry a few days before the end of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in May last year.

The House of Representatives Committee on Aviation in June last year declared as fraud the purported launch of Nigeria Air.

This followed claims that the unveiling of the national carrier was shrouded in secrecy.

The former chairman of the committee, Nnolim Nnaji, spoke at an investigative hearing on the launch of Nigeria Air in Abuja and called for the prosecution of individuals and organizations involved in the exercise.

He urged the ministry and its partners to immediately stop all actions in respect of the project.

The former chairman said the committee was dissatisfied with the actions of the former minister for flaunting a subsisting court order and went ahead with the launch of the national carrier.

A few days later, Sirika appeared on a TV programme and alleged that the Nnaji demanded a 5 percent stake in Nigeria Air.

He revealed that the former chairman and his committee members requested a stake in the project.

Keyamo, who assumed office in September last year, suspended the whole process.

He confirmed the EFCC’s investigation of the deal in a Channels Television’s programme, Politics Today.

“The EFCC is investigating that deal. There is a criminal investigation going on. I have called for the report,” the minister stated.

He also revealed that no local airline would be designated as a national airline.

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