Northern Group Calls For Arrest Of Buhari’s Aviation Minister, Sirika Over ‘Nigeria Air Scandal’

The Concerned Northern Forum (CNF) is calling for the probe of Nigeria’s former aviation minister, Hadi Sirika over Nigeria Air scandal.

The call comes after Sirika ignored a court injunction blocking the national career to horridly launch on May 26, 2023 the Nigerian Air with a Boeing 737 aircraft that flew into Abuja from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The launch was done three days to the end of his tenure.

The CNF said in a statement on Friday that the launch was shrouded by lies, deception, corruption and personal money benefits.

The behind-the-scenes drama of Nigerian Air is now synonymous with a ‘scam’ and many Nigerians are calling for a probe into the conduct of the immediate past Minister of Aviation.

Sirika’s episodes also raised the eyebrows of players in the Nigerian aviation industry who within 48 hours of the expiration of his tenure called for a public inquiry into some of the projects embarked upon by him.

He was appointed by ex-president, Muhammadu Buhari as the Minister of State for Aviation until 2019. Sirika was reappointed as the Minister of Aviation after Buhari won his second term bid.

The Interim Managing Director of Nigeria Air, Capt Dapo Olumide, recently confirmed rumours that the aircraft used to unveil the national career was a chartered flight from Ethiopian Airlines.

CNF said, “The Nigeria Air aircraft used for the unveiling of the Nigeria Air was rented from Ethiopian Airline.

“No wonder the unveiling was quick, no details were made available, no one has the eyes to say he saw any features of the plane or anything. He also made known that the airline was yet to secure an operating licence for full flight operations, disagreeing with earlier declarations of the former Minister, Hadi Sirika.

“This explains why the Minister was so adamant and insisted on going ahead with the unveiling of the Nigerian Air even when there was a court order acting against that same matter because it’s a half-baked project, driven by lies, deception, corruption and personal money benefits to the Minister amounting to billions of Naira.

“This is deception and breach of trust that should not go unpunished, Hadi Sirika must be brought to face the law. This national embarrassment and waste of resources incurred on the country would have been averted if he had listened to advice, yet Sirika went ahead knowing it was a charade, to deceive Nigerians and pocket billions to himself.”