Reps raise concerns over lopsided partnership between Nigerian Air, Ethiopian Airline

The relationship between Nigeria and Ethiopia on the Nigerian Air project has been questioned by the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation, on Thursday.

The lawmakers said they were resolved to preserve the national interest as they voiced their concerns at a public meeting on Thursday in Abuja.

According to Rep. Preye Oseke (PDP-Bayelsa), Sen. Hadi Sirika, the Minister of Aviation, was cited as saying that Nigeria only holds a 5% stake in the agreement with Ethiopian Airlines that led to the creation of Nigerian Air.

Following the introduction of Ethiopian airline as significant partners, he claimed that the members who heard the minister were furious.

The committee, according to Oseke, is perplexed by the kind of business module that granted Nigeria only a 5% ownership in the Nigeria Air project.

He claimed that the committee required a thorough explanation of all the issues involved in the creation of the Nigerian Air.

The lawmaker claimed that Ethiopian Airline’s decision to submit the only proposal for the project was the result of a process that called for explanations to the committee.

Rep Nnolim Nnaji (PDP-Enugu), the committee’s chairman, stated that various Nigerians had voiced reservations regarding the founding process of Nigerian Air.

According to him, Ethiopia is a competitor to Nigeria and the business module is going to offload Nigeria’s advantage to Ethopia which is a smaller country.

“The traffic is in Nigeria and that Nigeria is not doing well today does not mean it cannot do better tomorrow,” he stated.

He also said that Ethopia airline was already doing international travels and was about to take over local traffic which is largest in Africa.

The Vice President of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Mr. Allen Onyema, concurred in his statement that a Nigerian airline was necessary.

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He asserted that AON is skeptical of Ethiopia because they have done everything they can to gain front- and back-door access to the Nigerian market, beginning with Dana’s use of Airs Sky.

Onyema advised that the Nigerian Air be entirely funded by Nigerian investments, claiming that the route Ethiopia was taking would not be advantageous to Nigeria.

In his statement, Sen. Hadi Sirika, the minister of aviation, informed the committee that the Nigerian government owns 5% of the shares, the Ethiopian airline consultative committee 59 %, and Nigerian investors own 46%.

He added that Nigeria was given 5% of the shares because stakeholders didn’t think firms run by the Nigerian government would succeed, as seen by the success of Nigerian Airways.

The Minister further asserted that the planned airline would succeed if it were organized and operated similarly to the 100% government-owned Ethopia airline.

He claimed that the five percent was necessary to give the airline a sovereign financier and to increase investor trust.

The minister went on to say that having Ethiopian Airlines as the sole bidder was legal under the applicable laws.

After the procedure, he said, any anyone who would be ready to match the single bidder might still step forward within the required time frame, in accordance with the Swiss challenge.

President Muhammadu Buhari, according to Sirika, ordered the national airline to operate by the end of December.

Sirika said that the ministry had given all the stakeholder in the Nigerian aviation sector to participate and invest in the establishment of the national carrier.

“From all the submissions we received, we have identified partners and investors and we are currently negotiating and processing the Air Operator Certificate (AOC).

“I want to commit here that between now and the end of the year this airline will work,” he said.

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