Senator Hadi Sirika, Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, has stated that the planned national carrier, which is expected to begin operations later this year, will be run by the private sector, with the federal government owning only a 5% stake.
The minister stated this on Tuesday while fielding questions about the future of global aviation at the ongoing World Government Summit Dubai Expo 2020, where he reiterated that the public would own 95 percent of the national carrier, with the core investor owning 49 percent.
Sirika stated that since the COVID-19 lockdown, aviation has remained the fastest growing sector of the country’s economy, and that the country is the best place in Africa for airline business.
He said that available statistics had given the federal government reason to rejoice, noting that the number of serviceable airports and potential airlines had both doubled, and that aviation had been positioned as the fastest growing sector of the national economy.
Sirika also stated that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s Aviation Road Map program was on track, with the planned establishment of a national carrier, an aircraft maintenance facility, a leasing company, an aerospace university, and concessions of major airports in the country.
Nigeria needs a national carrier, according to the minister, because of its 200 million people, the majority of whom are very mobile and use all modes of transportation, including air travel, which has seen an increase in passenger traffic since the coronavirus outbreak.
Meanwhile, H.E. Luis Oliveira, President of the Airport Council International (ACI), said that despite accounting for 15% of the global population, Africa only accounted for 2% of global traffic, and that Africa deserved all the help she could get to improve her air transportation in all aspects of the business.