The Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, on Friday, said the Federal Executive Council was not divided over the mode of implementation Nigeria Air.
Sirika said he believed that the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, was misquoted in media reports that quoted the minister (Amaechi) as saying that FEC was divided on the mode of implementation of the national carrier project.
A statement by the Deputy Director, Press and Public Affairs at the Aviation arm of Ministry of Transportation, James Odaudu, stated that “It is the belief of the Minister of State for Aviation that the Minister of Transportation was misquoted by the media in this respect, as the Federal Executive Council is one cohesive body that cannot be divided over any issue.”
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According to Sirika, the Nigeria Air project had the full support of the council which deliberated on it and approved it.
He stated that consequently, President Muhammadu Buhari directed that the Viability Gap Funding for the project be provided for in the 2019 Appropriation, adding that the National Assembly had graciously done that.
The aviation minister said he regretted the media mix-up and assured the general public, and, more importantly, the prospective partners and investors, that the Nigeria Air project was fully alive and on course.
Yetunde Adegoke
