Operators applaud nullification of Nigeria Air bidding process

The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), the umbrella body for all domestic airlines in the country, yesterday hailed the court’s verdict halting the selection of Ethiopian Airlines as the preferred bidder for the national carrier, Nigeria Air.

Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos had declared in the judgment on the case filed by the Registered Trustees of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) that the action, conduct and decisions in the sale of the shares and operations of the Nigeria Air violated relevant laws.

The judge granted most of the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs which included, among others, the setting aside of the entire bidding process for Nigeria Air.

Daily Trust reports that the AON was at loggerheads with the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari when they opposed the process for the setting up of the national carrier, spearheaded by then minister Hadi Sirika. 

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The new minister, Festus Keyamo, SAN, on the assumption of office suspended the Nigeria Air.

The AON commended the judiciary for upholding justice and standing for what is right in its delivery of judgment against the purported sale of Nigeria Air to Ethiopian Airlines under the guise of setting up a national carrier.

Commenting on the judgment, AON president, Alhaji Abdulmunaf Yunusa Sarina, said; “The bold and patriotic declarations and orders made by the court today leave no one in doubt that the entire bidding, approval, and so-called unveiling processes of the purported national carrier was nothing other than a sham set up to hoodwink Nigerians.”