The logo of Nigeria Air, the new national carrier of Africa's most populous country/Photo: Hadi Sirika/Twitter

Nigeria: Minister announces launch date of new national airline 

Nigeria’s new national carrier is expected to take off in April 2022, the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, has announced.

This follows the approval for the establishment of the national carrier, called Nigeria Air, by the federal cabinet on Wednesday at a meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Sirika, who made the announcement in Abuja while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the federal cabinet’s meeting, explained that it was the sixth attempt to get the “outline business case” for the airline approved.

Sirika, the national carrier will be run by a private company in which the government will hold a 5% stake, Nigerian entrepreneurs holding 46% while the remaining 49% will be reserved for yet to be assigned strategic equity partners, including foreign investors. He further noted that the national carrier, when operational, will create about 70,000 jobs for Nigerians.

He said the government arrived at the choice of name, colour, and logo, among others for the national carrier after a national debate that involved thousands of people and was launched at the International Air Show in Farnborough in 2018.

Kola Tella

Check Also

Tribute to Nigeria’s Diaspora Amazon

Dr Abike Dabiri-Erewa/Photo: NIDCOM The Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Dr Abike …