The Nigerian senate has said that the aviation ministry is not being realistic with its proposal of a national carrier.
Chairman Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, Senator Uba Sani said this at the committee’s retreat in Niger state on Wednesday December 1.
Sani also accused the Aviation Ministry of frustrating the efforts of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) in obtaining the operating license for NG Eagle.
According to him, the Upper Chamber is not happy with the Aviation Ministry for allegedly frustrating the efforts of AMCON, having scaled all huddles that are required by law to set up a new airline tagged NG Eagle, by denying it the final Air Operating Certificate (AOC) to enable the new airline to commence scheduled operations.
Sani said;
“The ministry is not being realistic with his proposal of a National Carrier and because of that frustrating the efforts of AMCON on NG Eagle.
“I say it is not realistic after we listened to the explanations of the ministry that the government will own only 5% of the new National Carrier, Nigerians will own 46% and yet to be named foreign interest will own 49%.”
AMCON’s Managing Director/CEO, Ahmed Kuru who spoke at the event, stated that the agency’s involvement in the airline is not from a recovery perspective, but from a national duty perspective.
Kuru said;
“AMCON getting involved in the airline is not from a recovery perspective, but from a national duty perspective to ensure that the airline continued to operate given its strategic importance in the aviation sector at that time.
“After intervention by AMCON, the airline continued to meet its obligations particularly that of the Aviation Ministry. The airline has so far remitted over N12 billion as ongoing obligations to the ministry. The Corporation also does realize that at a certain point in time it must prepare an exit strategy from all its aviation portfolio, and based on advice, decided to set up NG Eagle through the process of certification by Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).”
