The Federal Government has ruled out the establishment of a new national carrier for Nigeria, insisting that government-owned airlines cannot survive under bureaucratic and political control.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, made this disclosure on Thursday in Lagos during the unveiling of two newly acquired Boeing 737-800 Next Generation aircraft by United Nigeria Airlines.
Speaking at the ceremony, Keyamo described investing public funds into a national airline as pouring resources into a “bottomless pit.”
According to the minister, governments worldwide are divesting from direct ownership of airlines.
He noted that Nigeria’s aviation policy is now firmly focused on supporting privately owned domestic flag carriers rather than funding a state-backed airline, which would only drain public resources.
“A few that are succeeding, such as Ethiopian Airlines, are completely detached from bureaucracy and run strictly as commercial enterprises,” he said. “As a government, we are struggling to mobilise resources for other critical sectors of the economy. We cannot afford to invest in a national airline that could become a drain on public funds.”
Recall that the previous administration had undertaken a “Nigeria Air” project, which was abandoned after a major fraud scandal involved in its setup was exposed. The proposed airline never became operational and is currently the subject of an ongoing multibillion-naira fraud trial at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja against the former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika.
Recent court testimonies from Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) investigators revealed that the widely publicized May 2023 unveiling of Nigeria Air in Abuja was completely staged. Witnesses testified that Sirika bypassed procurement rules and misappropriated over 2 billion naira, including renting a chartered Ethiopian Airlines aircraft for a three-day promotional display before quickly returning it to Addis Ababa.
During Thursday’s event, the Chairman of United Nigeria Airlines, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, welcomed the focus on local carriers but raised concerns over the high cost of doing business in Nigeria’s aviation sector. Citing findings from the International Air Transport Association,
Okonkwo warned that high interest rates and multiple regulatory charges are hurting indigenous operators. He called on the government to introduce single-digit financing to support fleet expansion and urged that revenues generated by aviation agencies remain within the sector to improve infrastructure rather than being diverted elsewhere.
