Admin l Wednesday, June 14, 2023
LAGOS, Nigeria – The Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Mr. Allen Onyema has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to dissolve the ‘charade called Nigerian Air’ and start his own thing.
Nigerian Air was launched by former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika in the twilight of his administration, when two Ethiopian Airlines painted in Nigerian colours flew into the country but have since disappeared, in what has been publicly acclaimed as the greatest fraud in the history of Nigeria.
He described Siriki as a liar that was on national television to continue his charade of deception.
Onyema who was speaking on Arise News said the board and composition of the Nigerian air cedes top executive positions to Ethiopians, with Nigerians as deputies, whereas the Ethiopian Airline will not invest a penny in Nigeria but to pay for rentals on their airlines.
He said that the ownership of the proposed Nigerian Air is 49 percent Ethiopian, with another 3 percent by another Ethiopian investor, stressing that while the Ethiopians, the greatest beneficiary of the deal will not bring in any cash, Nigerian investors will bear the bulk of the cash needed for the national career.
He said that the concept of National Carrier is now outdated, with Flag Carrier being the in-thing and wonders why Nigeria will be going to the direction many are running away from. According to him, most nations who have gone the way of national carrier have retraced their steps, adding that countries still in it like South Africa are looking for avenue to do away with the arrangement because of huge debt portfolio and issues of mismanagement.
He also spoke of the way he has been mistreated by successive ministers of aviation when it comes to granting approval for international routes, with many using the card of lack of capacity to undermine Air Peace, whereas the airline has been to Indonesia, India, London, South Africa and recently South Sudan on national assignment to rescue Nigerians and bring them home without a dime.
He said after flying into the UK to bring home Nigerians during covid-19, his permit was not renewed for a second trip and had to spend his money to hire an airline to bring Nigerians home. He said he has decided not to go beyond what he is saying so as not to set the country on fire.
He said contrary to what the former minister, Hadi Siriki said about Air Peace, his airline did not hire any plane but did outright purchase as stated in the letter the minister approved.
He said that he and his team that sued the federal government challenging the launch of Air Nigeria did not withdrew the suit, neither was the suit struck out, adding that the former minister brought in Ethiopian Airline to make a mockery of the judicial process.
He thanked the management of SACOL for not appending their signature to the Ethiopian Airline deal in the interest of Nigeria and in the process prevented Ethiopian Airline from ripping off Nigeria.
He said prior to this charade, the Ethiopian Airline approached him for a deal that would earn him royalties in millions of US Dollars for life with the Ethiopian Airline supplying the planes but that he opted out of the deal to protect national interest.
