Allen Onyema, CEO of Air Peace, has asked President Bola Tinubu to discontinue the Nigeria Air project, which was unveiled by the Muhammadu Buhari administration just days before he took office on May 29.
The project has been mired in controversy since it was reported that the Boeing 737-800 aircraft leased from Ethiopian Airlines resumed normal flight operations in Ethiopia days after its unveiling in Abuja.
In an appearance on Arise Television on Wednesday morning, Onyema said that Ethiopia stands to profit more from the development of the national airline. Onyema warned that Ethiopia may reap up to half of the profits from the company while contributing nothing.
“Look at the shareholding; Ethiopia has 49%; there is a company called Fairfax, who is this Fairfax? It is owned by Ethiopia,” Onyema said. “It is only the Nigerian companies that are going to bring money.”
Following a meeting with officials from the Ministry of Aviation and other key parties, lawmakers determined last week that the announced national carrier was a fraud “capable of ridiculing and tarnishing the image” of the country.
In his interview with Arise Television, Mr Onyema referred to this, labelling the endeavour as a charade.
“ET is bringing nothing and they are going to get 49% of your country’s wealth,” he said. “I call on President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to immediately dissolve this charade called Nigeria Air and start his own thing.”
Onyema went on to disregard the fear of competition and forecast that the Nigeria Air project will fail. “Nobody is afraid of this national carrier because it will fall and fail like a pack of cards.”
Furthermore, he advocated for a change in the government’s pursuit of a national carrier. According to Onyema, the idea is moribund and has harmed the economies of many countries throughout the world that have embraced it.
“Those who are in it are running out of it. What government do these days are flag carriers.
“British Airways is a flag carrier; it is owned by IAG group. Only a very few countries are still into national carriers like South Africa, and South African Airways is bleeding the treasury of the country,” he said.
The Air Peace CEO expressed confidence that the Nigeria Aviation industry will enjoy enormous growth once the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) lift restrictions stunting airline growth in the country.
“Why should Nigeria in 2023 be going backwards instead of moving forward?” he asked, alluding to the Ministry of Aviation’s quest for a second national carrier since 1999.
“All they needed to do was strengthen the ease of doing business so that people of means, and private concerns of means could invest in the aviation industry,” he added.
