Why FG picked Ethiopian Airlines for Nigeria Air – Sirika

The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has disclosed why the federal government picked Ethiopian Airlines as the major partner of a new Nigerian airline, Nigeria Air.

Presenting his ministry’s scorecard in Abuja on Thursday, Sirika said after approaching several international airlines across the world, only Ethiopian Airlines presented its interest and met the expected requirements, with no competition offers available.

In October, the Vice President of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) and Chairman/CEO of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, had criticised the decision to hand over the national carrier to Ethiopian Airlines.

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Onyema had stated that the partnership between both parties would be detrimental to the local operators, as Ethiopian Airlines was trying to enter the Nigerian aviation market and reduce prices.

The Air Peace boss had explained that the partnership would increase Ethiopian Airlines’ market share to 60 per cent in Nigeria, adding, “It is our belief that the six months period would lead to the liquidations of several domestic carriers.

“The Ethiopian Airlines/Nigeria Airlines Limited partnership may appear good initially but in the long run, it would have ripple effects on the local airlines whose market would have been decimated,” Onyema buttressed his point.

However, Sirika in his statement on Thursday said there were no competing offers, as Ethiopian Airlines was the only one that showed up with interest in Nigeria Air, hence, the Nigerian government had no choice.