The Federal Ministry of State, Aviation Sen. Hadi Sirika is set to clear the air on the intricacies surrounding the abrupt suspension of the Nigeria Air project.
Since the announced suspension of the project on 19th September speculation are rife as to why the government suspended the idea midway, especially when the minister didn’t provide possible reasons for the suspension.
However the suspension didn’t come as a surprise to many an industry watcher as a lot of experts have predicted that might happen except the government is bent on delivering a national carrier that might die before takeoff.
The suspension has been greeted with mixed reactions from stakeholders. Whilst others commended government for the bold step and urged it to recalibrate the procedure in setting up a national carrier, others say the idea should die permanently.
But the Minister of State Aviation, who is the most hit has said he will engage stakeholders in a forum and give a clear perspective on the aborted national carrier project.
A statement from James Odaudu, the Deputy Director, Media & Public Affairs on behalf of the minster said the stakeholders’ forum will happen October 23rd, 2018 in Abuja.
The statement noted that “in view of the general excitement generated earlier by the prospect of a new national airline coming on stream soon, and the massive reaction by members of the public in the wake of its recent suspension, it has become necessary to address some of the issues, misinformation, allegations and opinions trending in the media in order to keep the public well informed on the status of the proposed national carrier prior to the suspension.”
The forum “will, as usual, enable the Ministry, stakeholders and interested members of the public to adequately address all issues associated with the national carrier project” it said adding that the forum will involve airline operators, regulators in the aviation sector, prospective investors, the media practitioners, labour unions, aviation service providers, officials from the Ministry of Transportation and its agencies, and interested members of the public.
The statement also said the forum will also address other issues around the aviation roadmap.
