By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
Nigerian Government on Wednesday stated in strong terms to sanction international airlines operating in Nigeria but selling flight tickets to Nigerians in foreign currencies including dollar denominations, insisting that such practice is a violation of the Nigerian laws.
It also said that the decision to float a national carrier known as Nigerian Air is on course and that there is no going back on the project which it said the nation of over 200 million people is ripe for her own national carrier.
The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, stated this while fielding questions from State House Correspondents after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to Sirika, intelligence reports indicated that some of the airlines are refusing Naira and charging their ticket fares in dollars in violation of the nation’s laws, adding that some of the airlines have also blocked local travel agencies from accessing their websites for transactions.
He however disclosed that the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has been directed to deal with any of such airlines that are wilfully breaching the country’s laws in order to protect the interest of Nigerians against reported airlines’ operations malpractices, warning that no violator, no matter how highly placed, would be spared if caught in violation.
Said he: “I want to use this opportunity to say that reports are reaching us that some of the airlines are refusing to sell tickets in naira. That is a violation of our local laws, they will not be allowed. The high and the mighty amongst them will be sanctioned, if they’re caught doing that.
“NCAA had been directed to swing into action and once we find any airline violating this, we will definitely deal with them. Also, they blocked the travel agents from access. They also made only the expensive tickets available and so on so forth.
“Our regulators are not sleeping; we have a very vibrant Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority. Once they found any airline guilty, that airline will be dealt with because we need to protect our people. It is according to our agreements, to what we have signed and this is according to international convention.
“So going forward, they should desist from doing things that are outside of the law. They should also desist from writing us and putting things in social media. They should go through diplomatic channels if they want response from federal government”, he warned.
The Minister disclosed that the foreign airlines made over $1.1 billion from Nigeria in 2016, when the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration cleared the $600 million it inherited from previous government, saying if it was retained in the country through Nigerian official airline, it would have created jobs.
Sirika recalled that the airlines remitted over $600 million to their home countries in 2016 while over $265 million has also been released this year out of about $484 million due to them.
He said the government is trying to keep the airlines happy by ensuring that their money does not pile up again, saying that while the country needs their services, the airlines need the Nigerian market.
He warned them to refrain from using the social media to press home their demands rather than resorting to the diplomatic channels.
The Minister debunked the allegation that the Federal Government has already spent N14.6 billion on the Nigeria Air project despite having only five per stake in the airline.
He said that government has only spent N651 million (N352 million and N299 million) for what he called transactional advisory services approved by the FEC, but yet to be disbursed as the consultants were yet to finish their work.
According to him, “So Nigeria Air is on course, we are going to come very soon to council for approval of the full business case. And the activity is a Public Private Partnership, which is guided by the ICRC regulations, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission.
“We have diligently followed that. And I want to seize the opportunity to say that we have been reading newspaper reports, especially those that I have maximum respect which put out a sensational article on the front page. That the federal government of Nigeria has spent N14 billion on national carrier and they did nothing.
“This is absurd. This is unbecoming of a paper of that caliber, to dish out lies on purpose to mislead the public. The entire amount of money spent on national carrier is around the transaction advisory services. And we came here with a memo with approval, which we dished out to the press as to the quantum of money to be spent. It was N352 million in today’s rate. And another contract of N299 million. That’s it.
“I’m very embarrassed with this statement, it is not factual, is the true, is meant to mislead people. Federal Government is committed to establishing this career, we’ve gone very far. We’ve found partner. We are negotiating, we will come to council and get the full business report approved. And then we will come here declare.”
On alleged secrecy in the project, the minister said: “There’s also accusation as to secrecy in what we’re doing. Nigeria, I’m very proud to say is the first country and maybe perhaps the only to put up a portal where all public private partnership activities is being uploaded on daily basis. “People should not be pen lazy, not to research, not to ask questions in view of the Freedom of Information Act in place.
“Every single query to me on my desk, using Freedom of Information Act, I had always obliged. There’s nothing secret about government work anymore. And we’re not keeping anything in secrecy.
“If anybody wants anything to do with a national carrier or any other project on civil aviation, you should go to our own website, to the website of ICRC and to the portal, everything is uploaded there.
