The Air Nigeria Airline project has been suspended indefinitely.
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace, Festus Keyamo, disclosed this at the ministerial briefing to celebrate the first year of the Tinubu administration.
Keyamo said the airline was never a Nigerian airline but was an attempt to impersonate a foreign airline operating in Nigeria.
Back in January, the minister said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had commenced investigation into the controversial Nigeria Air deal sealed by the Federal Government during the tenure of ex-Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika.
Air Nigeria which was hurriedly unveiled days before the end of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
Last August, shortly after he was sworn in as minister, Keyamo faulted the deal by Sirika and suspended Air Nigeria to enable proper audit of contracts.
The controversy surrounding the establishment of Nigeria’s national carrier, Nigeria Air had forced veteran aviator, Girma Wake, to resign as Chairman of Ethiopian Airlines.
The then Interim Managing Director of Nigeria Air, Capt Dapo Olumide, had said the aircraft used to unveil the country’s national career was a legitimate chartered flight from Ethiopian Airlines, adding that the aircraft was returned to Ethiopian Airlines after the unveiling on the last day of the Buhari administration in May 2023.
Nigeria’s Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Aviation had both labelled the launch of the Nigeria Air as a fraud.