Nigeria Needs National Carrier, FG  Insists

The Federal Government says it is pushing for a rebirth of national carrier for the country on the strength of  geographical location and the massive population of Nigeria .

 Sen. Hadi Sirika, the Minister of Aviation,disclosed at the WBS Dubai Expo 2020 in Dubai, which was moderated by Richard Quest.

He expressed  that it was necessary for Nigeria to have a national carrier to further boost its economy and enhance connectivity between it and other countries.

According to him, the planned national carrier would be private sector driven with government owning only 5 per cent, while the other 95 per cent would be owned by both foreign and local investors.

He added: “Nigeria is situated at the centre of Africa, equidistant from all locations in Africa with 30.4 million square kilometres miles, 1.5 billion people and very green land. If Central and Eastern Africa is the belt of the continent, then Nigeria is the buckle. 200 million people and rising middle class, propensity to fly is high. Nigeria is a candidate for National Carrier.”

He said:“The airline will be private. Yes. 5 per cent government; and no government stepping right in that company, no government control, no membership of government on board. Totally private and committed.”

Sirika further that the government has been very consistent with its promises for the sector since 2015, stressing that Nigeria is the right place for business development.

Speaking,Mr. Tim Clark, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Emirates Airlines said that the airline would be willing to partner with the Federal Government in landing a new national carrier for Nigeria.

He described Nigeria as a power house in Africa, which every country would be willing to partner with.

“Is there a Business Case for the carrier? Of course there is. There is enormous Business Case to it. Nigerians are seeking to travel all over the world. Nigeria is a power house of Africa. We are over-interested in flying there because it is a rich nation in terms of demand for services.

“If the minister needs some assistance on how it can go about practising a blueprint, we are very happy to help. The government clearly understands what it is doing and they are doing it and probably in the next year they will have a very good carrier flying and please come to Dubai because there is so much demand.” he said.