Thread by @uchediala

#NigeriaAir

“From 2016 to 2023, all of the money voted and budgeted for Nigeria Air is N5 billion. But all that was released was in the neighbourhood of N3 billion, not N85 billion, and not all of the N3 billion has been expended as of the time I left office."

"What has been done with the money is nothing but to get special advisory services, the AOC processes, salaries, consultive services, and the maintenance of the office in Abuja. No contract was awarded by Hadi Sirika. These are the things the money was used for."

"And there is the Freedom of Information Act. People can apply and get all the information about what the money has been used for. The N85 billion being mentioned is only in the imagination of the people carrying it about.”

“The AOC owned by Ethiopian Airline is known to Nigeria & the NCAA. They are permitted to come in either with scheduled passengers, chattered or cargo. They have to come in under 1 of the 3. So, they came as chartered. Being chartered doesn't mean that anybody paid for anything."

"The government did not pay a dime for that aircraft to come in."

“Secondly, there was no revenue passenger in the aircraft because that would have been totally against the law and wouldn’t have been allowed. It was their own marketing strategy as equity partners."

They came to do this unveiling on a special allowance called chartered, and it does not mean that we paid for it. If anybody was to pay for it, it would have been the Ethiopian Airline, not the Nigerian government. No penny was paid."

“On the issue of Honorable Nnaji, who called Nigeria Air launch a fraud, I will respond now. I will say exactly what I told him in private when we spoke. Hon. Nnaji asked me that I should give him 5% of Nigeria Air to carry him along with his people & I said to him at that time:

"Honourable, a bidding process has taken place, and some people won. So, I think you should go to those people and ask for the 5 percent.” "

"Let's be fair, Honorable Nnaji didn’t say other members."

“He said he wants it for himself & his people. His people could his be his family, could be members & it could be leadership. I don’t know, but he insisted on 5%. I said that he should relax & approach the owners. That’s exactly what I told him.”

"I was a member of the House of Reps 20 years ago, and 10 years ago, I was a Senator. I know the workings of the National Assembly. He [Nnaji] called for public hearing. And right under the public hearing, he just turned the paper and read the riot act."

"The practice in the NASS is that after hearing people & the complain, you now go & sit down as a committee, discuss the issues, raise them, approach the whole House of Reps & take position of the house plus leadership & come back & make your findings known, ..

... but not immediately you just read the riot act out. It means it is predetermined.”

~ Senator @hadisirika
Former Minister for Aviation
On TVC