- Allen Onyema, the CEO of Air Peace, stated that Nigeria does not need a national carrier but rather an improved business atmosphere to attract private investment in the aviation sector.
- Onyema criticized the bidding process for Nigeria Air, calling it “shrouded in secrecy,” and emphasized the importance of transparency and ease of doing business.
- He highlighted that countries nowadays focus on flag carriers and that the priority should be on improving the climate for private investors rather than pursuing a national carrier.
Air Peace CEO, Allen Onyema, has emphasized that Nigeria does not require a national carrier, but rather an enhanced business environment to attract investment in the aviation sector.
Speaking during an interview with Arise TV, Onyema responded to allegations made by former Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika, and expressed concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding the bidding process for Nigeria Air. According to Onyema, improving the business climate and removing obstacles would be more beneficial than pursuing a national carrier model.
He added that the entire bidding process for Nigeria Air was “ shrouded in secrecy.”
National Carrier
Onyema insisted that contrary to what the Minister has been saying about Nigeria Air and the importance of a national carrier, countries don’t go that route anymore, adding that it is a drain and that those who are in it are running out of it, he added:
- “The phrase ” government ownership”, what countries do these days are flag carriers, like British Airways, countries don’t do that anymore, why should Nigeria be going backward instead of forwards, all they needed was improve the climate for doing business so that private investors invest in the aviation space.
- “We( local airlines) are not fighting for ourselves or afraid of competition, nobody is afraid of national carriers because they will fall and fail.”
Improve Business Climate
He added that what the airline operators need is an improved climate of doing business, noting that the process to apply was shrouded in secrecy, he said:
- “What we are saying is improve ease of doing business, remove challenges stunting the environment, and they did not do it.”
The bidding process for Nigeria Air
According to him, the process of applying to become a shareholder in Nigeria Air lacked transparency and offered no means of application. He stated,
- “Nigerian Air made statements, and we opposed it because we knew the whole thing was shrouded in secrecy. We were instructed to apply, but upon visiting the website, we were astonished to find that there was no provision for applying anywhere.
- “On the day he( Hadi Sirika) announced the National carrier, he said the NSIA is part of it, Ethiopia getting 49%, within hours NSIA told him to withdraw that statement,
- “SAHCO even came out to say they were not part of it, even after they were said to be investors
- “Those of us in AON, that went to court, 5 airlines stood up and went to court and put their name on the suit, including Max Air, Azman, Air Peace, and United Nigeria.”
Backstory
Recall Hadi Sirika in an interview on Sunday stated that the federal government released only N3 billion for the Nigeria Air project in the last 7 years
Sirika, who disclosed this while clearing the air on the controversial project during a live programme on Arise TV on Sunday, said the N3 billion had not been fully expended before he left the office on May 29. According to him, the total money budgeted for the project since 2018 was N5 billion, out of which N3 billion had been disbursed.
This is even as he declared that the country did not pay a dime for the Chartered Ethiopian Aircraft showcased a few days before the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. He said Ethiopian Airlines
- “From 2016 to 2023, all of the money voted and budgeted for Nigeria Air is N5 billion. But all that was released was in the neighborhood of N3 billion, not N85 billion, and not all of the N3 billion has been expended as of the time I left office. What has been done with the money is nothing but to get special advisory services, the AOC processes, salaries, consultive services, and the maintenance of the office in Abuja.
- “No contract was awarded by Hadi Sirika, these are the things the money was used for. And there is the Freedom of Information Act, people can apply and get all the information about what the money has been used for. The N85 billion being mentioned is only in the imagination of the people carrying it about.”