The House of Representatives has summoned Hadi Sirika, the former Minister of Aviation, to provide insights on the status and controversies surrounding the Nigeria Air project. The lower legislative chamber also extended invitations to Festus Keyamo, the current Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Chris Najomo, the Acting Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), and local airline operators.
The resolution was passed during Thursday’s plenary session after the adoption of a motion put forth by Tarkighir Dickson, a lawmaker from Benue. Dickson expressed concerns over the lack of clarity regarding the Nigeria Air project despite the significant financial investment by the government.
The national carrier, Nigeria Air, was unveiled by Sirika just days before former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration ended. Dickson alleged that the government had spent substantial funds on the project without a clear understanding of its current status, and warned that if left uninvestigated, it could lead to issues of accountability and recurrent expenditures in the federal budget.
During the plenary, Benjamin Kalu, the Deputy Speaker of the House, presided over a voice vote that saw the motion passed. As part of the resolution, the House called on the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Ministries of Budget, National Planning, and Finance to provide the Committee on Aviation with data and financial resources allocated to the national carrier project.
The Committee on Aviation has been tasked with conducting a forensic audit of the Nigeria Air project and presenting its findings to the House within four weeks for further legislative action. This move comes after a previous investigation in June by the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation, which labeled the project as fraudulent, urging the federal government to suspend it.
