Senate Rejects Nigeria Air Project, Urges FG to Establish National Carrier
• Akpabio dismisses revival of failed contracts
•Says Nigeria cannot continue to depend on foreign airlines for direct international connections
•Orders review of Nigeria-China aviation agreement
Sunday Aborisade in Abuja
Senate yesterday rejected calls for the revival of contracts awarded for the controversial Nigeria Air project, describing further discussions on the failed national carrier initiative as unproductive.
It urged the federal government to explore alternative arrangements for establishing a Nigerian-owned airline.
The upper chamber also called for an urgent renegotiation and enforcement of the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) between Nigeria and China to enable Nigerian airlines to operate direct flights to the Asian country.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the position during plenary, after lawmakers debated a motion sponsored by Senate Chief Whip, Senator Tahir Monguno (APC, Borno North), seeking to address the imbalance in flight operations between Nigeria and China countries.
Although the lawmakers rejected the revival of the contracts associated with the failed Nigeria Air project, they maintained that Nigeria needed a national carrier capable of representing the country internationally and improving its participation in the global aviation market.
Akpabio said the federal government should look beyond the failed Nigeria Air arrangement and consider establishing a national airline, recalling the operational capacity of the defunct Nigerian Airways.
He lamented that the country had moved from operating a national airline with a sizeable fleet to depending largely on foreign carriers for international connectivity.
The Nigeria Air project was unveiled by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari shortly before the end of its tenure in May 2023. However, the initiative became embroiled in controversy over allegations of fraud and misrepresentation.
An investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Christopher Odofin, had alleged in his testimony, which commenced on June 30, 2025, that former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, disguised an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft as Nigeria’s national carrier.
EFCC is prosecuting Sirika, his daughter, Fatima Sirika, her husband, Jalal Hamma, and their company, Al Buraq Global Investment, on six counts bordering on alleged contract fraud involving N1.5 billion and gratification proceeds of N1.3 billion.
The commission alleged that the former minister corruptly awarded a consultancy services contract for the establishment of Nigeria Air in 2023 to a company belonging to Gabriel Tilmann, a professor whom the prosecution described as his friend.
The defendants’ prosecution remains before the court.
On the Nigeria-China aviation agreement, Monguno urged the federal government to take diplomatic and regulatory measures to secure reciprocal flight rights for Nigerian airlines.
He stated that the existing arrangement, which allowed Chinese airlines to operate direct flights into Nigeria without corresponding direct services by Nigerian carriers to China, placed local operators and businesses at a disadvantage.
According to him, enforcing the agreement would transform the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, into major aviation gateways linking West and Central Africa with East Asia.
He said direct flights would reduce travel time, improve supply chain efficiency, retain foreign exchange within the country, and increase revenue accruing to Nigerian airports.
Monguno also identified the potential benefits to include the expansion of small and medium-sized enterprises, increased non-oil exports, and improved access to international markets for Nigerian agricultural products, particularly perishable goods.
He proposed that the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) should pursue measures to ensure reciprocity in flight rights, address competitive disadvantages arising from airlines operating through intermediate destinations, and encourage bilateral code-sharing arrangements.
The senator also suggested temporary airport fee waivers to support Nigerian airlines seeking to establish direct routes to China.
On financial arrangements, he proposed a direct naira settlement window, leveraging the existing bilateral currency swap framework, to reduce dependence on the United States dollar in transactions associated with the proposed operations.
He urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to initiate diplomatic engagements with China to facilitate business visas for Nigerian traders and secure reciprocal airport slot allocations for Nigerian airlines.
Contributing to the debate, Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central) criticised the absence of direct flights between Nigeria and China.
Ningi stated that Nigerian travellers were compelled to transit through other countries to reach their destinations.
He said China continued to benefit from Nigeria’s resources without the country securing corresponding economic and commercial advantages.
Senator Ned Nwoko (APC, Delta North), however, called on the federal government to consider reviving Nigerian Airways. Nwoko said the country needed a national carrier rather than relying exclusively on private operators to establish international routes.
Senator Khabeeb Mustapha (APC, Jigawa South-west) also supported calls for the revival of the defunct Nigerian Airways.
Akpabio, in his contribution, questioned the existing aviation arrangement between Nigeria and China, insisting that Nigerian businesses should not continue to depend on foreign airlines to access the Chinese market when Chinese carriers enjoyed direct access to Nigeria.
He said, “We are talking about the BASA agreement between Nigeria and China. If it is only Chinese planes that can fly directly to Nigeria and Nigerian planes cannot fly direct to China, Nigerian businessmen going to China have to go through Kenyan Air, Ethiopian Air, all sorts of airlines but Chinese businessmen fly directly to Nigeria.
“And we have over five million Chinese in Nigeria and we have less than one million Nigerians in China. It is something that we need to rejig to make sure that the BASA is revisited to enable Nigerian airlines to fly directly to China.”
The senate subsequently adopted the motion through a voice vote, mandating its Committees on Aviation and Foreign Affairs to ensure compliance with the resolution and report back to the chamber within four weeks.
On the need for a national carrier, Akpabio said Nigeria required an airline capable of flying the country’s flag and providing the capacity to meet growing domestic and international travel demands.
Recalling the operations of the defunct Nigerian Airways, he said, “We used to have a plane in those days carrying people to Saudi Arabia and all that. At the time, Nigerian Airways had about 32 planes on ground, about 40, going from one place or the other, so how did we get here?”
The senate president also expressed concern that existing private airlines might not have sufficient capacity to meet the country’s increasing air travel demands, particularly during peak periods.
He cited the difficulties travellers and political actors encountered in securing private aircraft, warning that the situation could become more challenging during the December festive season and election campaigns.
Akpabio said, “Watch December and the confusion. Even the private airlines cannot handle it.
“Common campaigns, we cannot see even private jets to hire. We should at least be able to urge the federal government to look into that to alleviate the plight of airlines.”