Former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has dismissed claims that the Air Nigeria project conceptualised by former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration was a scam. Sirika, a two-term minister, stated this on Channels Television’s Morning Brief yesterday, saying the government followed due process.

“I had no intention to speak about my time in office for now; I intend to bring up a book. “It is a public-private partnership which was regulated by the Infrastructure Concessioning Regulatory Commission that gave certificates, participated actively in the process.

“It is a lie that I spent N100 billion and it is lost in the process. The total budget for the national carrier was N5bn, the total amount released was N3 billion and I left the ministry with over N1 billion,” he stated.

The Nigeria Air was launched at the tail end of Buhari’s administration, with many describing the exercise as a fraud. This was despite opposition from domestic operators under the aegis of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) which sued the Federal Government over the project. Sirika who left office in 2023 is currently facing trial for alleged corruption and abuse of office.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) accused him of awarding multibillion naira contracts to companies owned by his family members, including his daughter, Fatima Sirika, and son-in-law, Jalal Hamma. Specifically, the EFCC alleged that Sirika split a federal aviation contract worth N2.7 billion to bypass regulatory approvals and awarded them to family-controlled companies.