Former Aviation Minister Accuses Lawmaker Of Asking 5% Bribe From Nigeria Air

Former Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika has accused House of Representatives Committee of Aviation Chairman Nnolim Nnaji of asking for a 5% of stake in the controversial airline Nigeria Air.

"He asked me to please indulge him and give him 5% of the airline and carry him along and his people," Sirika said in an interview on television Sunday, Arise reported. "What I told him in private is that it belonged to the owners and I believe they will still be willing to give him if he had the money."

Nnaji has not reacted to the allegation thrown against him yet, according to Punch.

Apart from making his accusation against Nnaji, Sirika also claimed that there was nothing secretive about Nigeria Air and that all the activities around the airline took place publicly.

"There is an allegation that the whole thing was shrouded in secrecy and that, I find mind-boggling and disturbing," he explained, as per Arise. "This airline we advertised during the procurement stage and there was a business conference and members of the airlines operations of Nigeria participated in this conference."

"The whole world knew that we were bidding and everyone bidded and even asked for an extension of time," he added. "It was open. So, where is the secrecy? We held six stakeholders conference and presented them to the public."

The former minister was then questioned about the court order restraining them from unveiling the airline, and he acknowledged that "there was a motion to vacate the order immediately by our counsel."

"I am not the court and I cannot determine here whether it is contempt of court or not, so I'll leave that one to the court," he said.

The unveiling of the airline was done on the last working day of the administration, May 26. Sirika reacted to the unveiling, saying it was a marketing strategy.

The former minister was also asked about the tax break on the newly unveiled airline, and he clarified, "There is no tax break or holiday for Nigeria Air Limited. They will operate within the same tax laws that everybody is operating."

"But they are going to be operating within a special economic zone we established and they will enjoy those taxes like every other person," he said further.

Nigeria's minister of state on aviation announced in March that Nigeria Air will be operational before May 29, as former president Muhammadu Buhari would step down from his position on that date.

Captain Dapo Olumide, managing director of Nigeria Air, disclosed that the airline doesn't have a license for full operations and the country was still in the early stage of acquiring the license. Olumide also claimed that Nigeria Air was only unveiled and not launched.