National Assembly To Grill Officials Of Aviation Ministry Over Nigeria Air

The House of Representatives Committee on Aviation has postponed an investigative hearing originally slated for Monday in Abuja.

The hearing will probe the contentious launch of Nigeria Air, the country’s national carrier, under the administration of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari.

However, many of the invited stakeholders left the hearing location before the committee’s Chairman, Nnolim Nnaji, arrived, running approximately two hours late.

OsunDaily News gathered that the stakeholders invited to the hearing included representatives from the Ministry of Aviation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, Airline Operators of Nigeria, Ethiopian Airlines, and aviation fuel suppliers.

Following his belated arrival, Nnaji apologized to the remaining stakeholders and rescheduled the hearing for 3 pm on Tuesday.

Reports have alleged that the Buhari-led government, in a significant blunder, unveiled an over 10-year-old Boeing 737-800 series aircraft belonging to Ethiopian Airlines as the “Nigerian Air.”

According to SaharaReporters, the aircraft, originally operated by Ethiopian Airlines, briefly became Malawi Airlines in 2014 before returning to Ethiopian Air a year later.

The Buhari administration’s failure to successfully launch Nigeria Air after eight years amidst controversies has resulted in the Airline Operators of Nigeria taking legal action against the government to halt the national carrier’s process.