Hadi Sirika, the former minister of Aviation, has been summoned to appear before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for questioning.
Sirika is been invited to answer questions about the recently launched Nigeria Air, clad in Ethiopian colors. The minister had, towards the end of Buhari’s administration, launched the Nigeria Air in Abuja using an Ethiopian aircraft.
EFCC spokesman Wilson Uwujaren confirmed that an investigation was underway but could not provide any specifics.
“I can confirm that there is an ongoing investigation in that regard,” he said.
Reliable sources told THISDAY that the anti-graft agency seek to look into the N3 billion sunk into the project though some stakeholders argue that over N80 billion was invested in the project.
Stakeholders were irked that an Ethiopian airline that landed in Nigeria with Ethiopian colors was disguised as a national carrier.
Sirika in a recent interview with Arise TV Channel, stated that the landing of the Ethiopian aircraft in Abuja was “a marketing strategy.”
“We have already questioned some officials of Nigerian Air.
“We have invited the former Aviation minister, Hadi Sirika. We are expecting him within the week”, the source confirmed.
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) announced last week that the airline was still in the initial stage of getting an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) to operate as a commercial airline, which is a five-part process.
However, The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) had also repeatedly opposed the plan for a variety of reasons.
Obiora Okonkwo, the spokesman for AON, recently cautioned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to be “blackmailed into accepting a contraption that would definitely and ultimately harm the Nigerian economy and destroy millions of existing jobs in favor of one or two individuals.”
