Keyamo Faults Buhari Administration’s Nigeria Air Deal With Ethiopian Airline

Abuja, NIGERIA — The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has slammed the agreement between the immediate-past administration and Ethiopian Airlines over the management of Nigeria Air.

Keyamo who served as Minister of State for Labour and Productivity in former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration said some of the details of the agreement signed with the major stakeholder in the Nigeria Air – Ethiopian Airline deal required another critical look in the nation’s interest, citing waivers and the staffing arrangements.

Six months after an elaborate ceremony on May 26, 2023, to celebrate the arrival of its first aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, Nigeria Air has remained dormant ever since.

Founded in 2018, Nigeria Air’s ownership stakes are divided among Ethiopian Airlines (49 percent), Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (46 percent), and the Federal Government (5 percent)

Speaking to State House Correspondents after this week’s Federal Executive Council meeting at the Aso Rick Villa, said President Bola Tinubu will determine the next step for the Nigeria Air Project.

Keyamo said: “I cannot preempt my President. I cannot…now we have looked at all the issues, and it’s before Mr. President,” arguing that it would be “irresponsible“ of the Federal Government to follow through on a deal that gives monopoly of Nigeria’s aviation industry to a foreign entity.

The Minister revealed that some of the details of the agreement signed with the major stakeholder in the deal, Ethiopian Airlines, required another critical look in the nation’s interest, citing waivers and the staffing arrangements.

He said, “In the agreement, you are giving tax waivers to Ethiopian Airlines coming into Nigeria. They asked for five-year tax waivers, and you granted them to come and compete with your local airline, which are paying those heavy taxes.

“How? Do you want to create a monopoly? That’s why when they tell you that we want to crash price by… it’s a lie. It’s robbing Peter to pay Paul.

“The only thing that brings down prices in the commercial world is fair competition.”

“In the agreement, they also made a proposal that they will appoint everybody; top management, everybody Ethiopian, in Nigeria, and we agreed? We agreed!!” he queried.

Keyamo, however, stated that all details are before the President for consideration, and Tinubu will make the final decision.

“I have heard all kinds of things going on, all kinds of brickbats in the social media, but I cannot preempt my President.

“All the documents, all the reports, everything, we have forwarded to Mr. President, the issues we’ve met on the ground.

“I feel the pulse of Nigerians. Even the National Assembly raised concerns over that, and so many stakeholders. It would have been irresponsible to close my eyes totally to those concerns. So because of that, we suspended it, to say that let’s just look at all the issues and recommend,” he explained.