Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has revealed contentious details of agreements signed by former Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika concerning the defunct Nigeria Air project.
In a viral video, Keyamo criticised the agreements, describing them as a flawed arrangement that would have handed control of Nigeria’s national carrier to Ethiopian Airlines and, by extension, the Ethiopian government.
Keyamo disclosed that Ethiopian Airlines was positioned as the primary shareholder in the proposed national carrier, a deal he argued would have compromised Nigeria’s aviation sovereignty.
“What it simply says is that a foreign government should take over our national carrier,” Keyamo explained. “Ethiopian Airlines would have had first priority over all our Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASA) routes. Where would those profits go? Not to Nigeria.”
He further criticised the deal for proposing that key leadership positions, including the CEO, financial officer, and director of operations, be reserved exclusively for Ethiopian nationals.
Keyamo also highlighted clauses that exempted the operators of Nigeria Air from paying taxes to the Nigerian government and obligated Nigeria to guarantee any operational losses incurred.
“The Ethiopian government wasn’t planning to bring foreign direct investment. They intended to use wet-leased aircraft to operate the airline as a national carrier, diverting all profits to Addis Ababa,” he stated.
Keyamo argued that the agreement would have undermined Nigeria’s aviation ecosystem, allowing a foreign entity to dominate the country’s hard-earned BASA routes.
“We cannot give up our aviation ecosystem to another entity. What they did in Togo with Asky cannot happen here. We are a big and ambitious nation,” he said.
The revelations have sparked widespread debate about the transparency and intent behind the Nigeria Air project. Keyamo assured Nigerians that the government remains committed to establishing a genuine national carrier that prioritises national interests and fosters sustainable development within the aviation sector.
