A former Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika, has dismissed allegations circulating in some quarters that the Air Nigeria project, conceptualised during ex-President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, was a scam. Sirika insisted that the initiative was born out of genuine intentions to revitalize Nigeria’s aviation sector.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Tuesday, Sirika addressed the controversy surrounding the project’s funding and execution, emphasizing that the government followed all due processes.
“I had no intention to speak about my time in office for now; I intend to bring up a book on that later,” Sirika revealed. “But it is important to clarify some misconceptions.”
According to Sirika, Air Nigeria was structured as a Public-Private partnership regulated by the Infrastructure Concessioning Regulatory Commission (ICRC), which provided certificates and actively participated in overseeing the project’s processes.
He strongly refuted claims that N100bn was disbursed and subsequently lost to corruption or mismanagement. “It is a lie that I spent N100bn and it is lost in the process,” he said. “The total budget for the national carrier was N5bn; out of that, only N3bn was released, and I left the ministry with over N1bn unspent.”
The Nigeria Air project was officially launched towards the end of Buhari’s administration, aiming to restore the country’s presence in the global aviation industry through a government-backed national carrier.
Since leaving office in 2023, Sirika has been embroiled in legal proceedings over allegations of corruption and abuse of office.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) accused him of awarding multi-billion naira contracts to companies owned by family members, including his daughter, Fatima Sirika, and son-in-law, Jalal Hammaby.
Specifically, Sirika faces allegations of splitting a federal aviation contract worth N2.7bn to bypass regulatory approvals, awarding portions of the contract to family-controlled companies.
The EFCC also alleged that the company owned by his daughter and son-in-law, Al Buraq Global Investment Limited, received N1.3bn for an aviation contract that was never executed.
When asked about his recent visit to the Presidential Villa and whether it was intended to seek a “soft landing” amid ongoing trials, Sirika maintained that the case is still pending in court and it would be improper to comment on it publicly.
“The purpose of the meeting was to officially pay our condolences to the President, who has done extremely well following the demise of our leader, President Muhammadu Buhari,” he said. “It was also to appreciate him for his efforts and to assure him of our party’s continued support, as he remains our leader.”
Sirika added, “Unfortunately, this matter is in the court of law, and it is not appropriate to subject it to press commentary. I am a very clean man and have worked with many people throughout my career. The government has every instrument at its disposal to ascertain my character.”
