Northern group calls for ex-Aviation Minister, Sirika’s prosecution over N143bn “Nigeria Air” scandal

The Concerned Northern Forum (CNF) has called for the prosecution of the immediate past Aviation Minister, Sen. Hadi Sirika, over a N142.3 billion fraud on the botched national career, “Nigerian Air”.

CNF decried what it called the deception and breach of trust by the former minister by the conception and unveiling of the “Nigerian Air.”

The CNF, in a statement obtained by Persecondnews on Friday, described the launching of the national carrier as an embarrassment and a waste of public funds, pointing out that the proposed preliminary cost and take-off cost gulped a staggering N142.3 billion.

Persecondnews recalls that “Nigeria Air” is the second national carrier after the defunct Nigeria Airways that was established in 1958, but witnessed a steady decline from the 1980’s due to mismanagement and accumulated debt of approximately $250 million with a revenue of $5 million per month before going into extinction in 2003.

The CNF claims that the aircraft used for the unveiling was rented from Ethiopian Airline, despite not securing license for full operation.

CNF said: “The Nigeria Air aircraft used for the unveiling of the Nigeria Air was rented from Ethiopian Airline.

“No wonder the unveiling was quick, no details were made available, no one has the eyes to say he saw any features of the plane or anything.

“He also made known that the airline was yet to secure an operating licence for full flight operations, disagreeing with earlier declarations of the former Minister, Hadi Sirika.

“This explains why the Minister was so adamant and insisted on going ahead with the unveiling of the Nigerian Air even when there was a court order acting against that same matter because it’s a half-baked project, driven by lies, deception, corruption and personal money benefits to the Minister amounting to billions of Naira.”

It declared:“This is deception and breach of trust that should not go unpunished, Hadi Sirika must be brought to face the law.

“This national embarrassment and waste of resources incurred on the country would have been averted if he had listened to advice, yet Sirika went ahead knowing it was a charade, to deceive Nigerians and pocket billions to himself.”