The minister of aviation and aerospace development, Mr Festus Keyamo said the botched Nigeria Air project promoted by his predecessor, Mr Hadi Sirika, could have been a good deal for Nigeria except that it was programmed to serve the interest of its technical partner, Ethiopian Airlines, immensely.
Keyamo made the declaration while speaking in an interview on Channels television.
The minister said the project was not transparent adding that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had opened an investigation into the deal.
‘It was not a deal that was good for Nigeria. It was a good concept to have a national carrier but it was not a good deal for Nigeria.
“The EFCC is investigating the deal to know whether Nigerians were shortchanged.
“I don’t want to preempt their investigation. The whole composition and the totality of that deal was merely Ethiopian Airlines flying Nigeria Air. It was a foreign airline trying to fly the Nigerian flag,” he said.
Meanwhile, Keyamo said he had undertaken a thorough review of potential deals for the establishment of a national carrier and emphasised the importance of securing favourable agreements that safeguard Nigeria’s long-term interests in the aviation industry.
