Nigerian Air Launch A Fraud, declared by the House of Reps. Olumide, Managing Director of Nigeria Air, has revealed that the plane that landed at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on May 26, 2023, was rented from Ethiopia.
Olumide revealed this when answering senators’ queries on Monday, adding that it was launched in 2018 and that his role was to get the airline’s operating certificate.
“It is a pleasure to be here and finally make our position known where I can clarify all the misconceptions about Nigeria Air as it pertains to the technical aspects of it,” Olumide stated. “I was invited in February, and my mandate is to obtain an air operating certificate for the airline, not necessarily to operate the airline, but to obtain a certificate.”
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“I was invited in February, and my mandate is to obtain an air operating certificate for the Nigerian Air launch, not necessarily to operate the airline, but to obtain a license to fly.” And that is completely my fault.”
Senator Olujimi, Chairman of the Committee on Aviation, expressed her disgust with the committee when she stated that the entire setup of Nigeria Air was surrounded in suspicion.
In response to Olujimi’s question, Olumide stated that the aircraft that flew into the country that day did not require a license and was therefore hired. “I’d like to address your question first before I go on,” he said. The plane that landed and took off was a legal charter flight. If we have a destination, any of us can come.
By the way, this is the plane (ET-APL) at Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa on Monday June 5. The “Nigeria Air” branding has been taken off while it continues its regular Mogadishu- Addis shuttle.
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— David Hundeyin (@DavidHundeyin) June 7, 2023
“I’d like to address your question first before I go on,” he said. The plane that landed and took off was a legal charter flight. Anyone here may charter an aircraft if we have a destination wedding in Senegal. “You don’t need a license to do that; you just charter an aircraft, one you paid for, and it will be brought here, take your passengers, and take off.”
“And that is exactly what we did. However, in this case, it was to reveal. Since 2018, everything you’ve seen about Nigerian Air has been photographs and sketches, not the real thing, so we decided it was time to show you what the real thing will look like.
“You see, we have institutional investors who are not in aviation but are putting their money in for 10 or 15 years with the possibility of exiting at a premium.” As a result, they need to visualize how the actual aircraft will look. “So we brought it here to show them how the aircraft will look.” Then there was the social media aspect to consider.
“It is Ethiopian-registered.” Why is it registered in Ethiopia? On November 5th, planes must be Nigerian registered in order to operate in Nigeria. That aircraft was not registered on November 5th since it was a chartered flight that came in with only a few days’ clearance and then flew away.
Before the NCAA will provide us a license, we must, among other things, have three aircraft that are registered in Nigeria.” “For us to get that license, which is my mandate, we must, among other things, have three aircraft before the NCAA will give us a license, and those three aircraft must be Nigerian-registered aircraft.”
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“To obtain a license, one must complete five steps.” We switched from one to the other, however the problem is that when you change what we call post holders. “When you change them and replace them completely, you have to go back to phase one to interview them to be submissive to the authority, to the civil authority. But just because you’ve returned to phase one doesn’t imply you’ve done anything wrong. That is a typical and correct procedure.
“When this aircraft arrived on a chartered flight, everyone assumed we had launched Nigeria Air.” “There are learned people in the aviation industry who could have countered that when social media came out, but they chose not to.”
The House of Representatives called the reported inauguration of Nigeria Air towards the end of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s government a sham.
Nnolim Nnaji, Chairman of the House Committee on Aviation, termed Nigeria Air’s debut a fraud as the primary partners in the contract between the Federal Government and Ethiopian Airlines denied knowledge of the launch.
The Ministry of Aviation stated that Nigeria Air had merely been presented and had not yet been launched, which the committee regarded as an attempt to distract lawmakers’ attention.
We hired a jet from Ethiopia – Nigeria Air MD House charges fraud and requests that Tinubu suspend Nigeria Air. Air Members of the committee were taken aback when NAMA revealed that an aircraft flying in Nigerian colors was on the ground. Other stakeholders who confirmed the disclosure pointed out that a chartered flight might be painted any color and with any inscription.
