The planned take off of the National Carrier, Nigeria Air, by the end of this year has been stalled following a suit challenging the shareholding structure by the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON).
However, the government must have shifted the take-off to the first quarter of 2023 as it moves to set aside the perpetual injunction granted by a Federal High Court in Lagos.
On Friday, the government failed in its move as the court reaffirmed its earlier order stopping the project and for a status quo to remain.
But the court on Friday brought forward the date for the continuation of the hearing of the matter to January 16, 2022, from the initial date of February 13, 2022.
The suit was filed by a group of airline operators under the aegis of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) to stop the floating of a national carrier, Nigeria Air.
The airline was slated for launch this month which was further reiterated by President Muhammadu Buhari, saying work had reached 91 per cent.
At the court sitting on Friday, the presiding judge, Justice Lewis Allagoa, after careful consideration of the oral application granted an order to adjourn the matter to January 16, 2023.
Some airline operators had on November 16, 2022, approached the court to halt the project.
They equally declared that the 2nd Defendant (Ethiopian Airlines) was incompetent to bid for shares in the 1st Defendant and commence business accordingly.
The plaintiff prayed the court to set aside the entire bidding/selection process(es) for the “Nigeria Air” project as well as the approval, grant, or selection of the 2nd defendant by the 1st, 3rd, and 4th Defendants in the process.
The federal government had selected Ethiopian Airlines as technical partner for Nigeria Air while the airline is expected to have a controlling share of 49 percent which did not go down well with the domestic operators.
