The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has expressed concerns over certain aspects of the agreement signed with private investors as regards Nigeria’s national carrier, Nigeria Air.

Addressing State House correspondents after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, Keyamo, however, refrained from preempting President Bola Tinubu’s final decision on the airliner’s future.

Nigeria Air, founded in 2018 with ownership stakes divided among Ethiopian Airlines (49%), Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) (46%), and the Nigerian Federal Government (5%), received its first aircraft in May 2023 but has since remained inactive.

Keyamo disclosed that critical details of the agreement with the major stakeholder – Ethiopian Airlines – required reevaluation, citing concerns about tax waivers, staffing arrangements, and the potential for creating a monopoly at the expense of other local airlines.

He emphasised his responsibility as a minister to address stakeholders’ concerns.

Keyamo informed reporters that he had submitted his observations to President Tinubu, who will determine the next course of action regarding Nigeria Air.

Keyamo raised specific issues with the agreement, including tax waivers granted to Ethiopian Airlines for five years, potentially giving them a competitive advantage over local airlines already burdened by heavy taxes.

Additionally, Keyamo pointed out a proposal in the agreement allowing Ethiopian Airlines to appoint personnel at all levels within Nigeria, which could lead to a scenario where Ethiopian Air controls top management positions.

“Now we have looked at all the issues and it’s before Mr. President. But let me just give one or two snippets because of Nigerians who are quick to judge.

“In the agreement, you are giving tax waivers to Ethiopian Airlines coming into Nigeria. They asked for tax waivers for five years and you granted them, to come and compete with your local airlines who are paying those heavy taxes. How? You want to create a monopoly? That’s why when they tell you that we want to crash price by… it’s a lie. It’s robbing Peter to pay Paul.

“Because they have removed all taxes from you and you’ve granted them tax waivers, initially they will crash prices, but once you’ve driven every other person out of the market, you’ll now have a monopoly, then you can now hike it 500%, nobody dares to challenge you.

“The only thing that brings down prices in the commercial world is fair competition. In the agreement, they also made a proposal that they will appoint everybody; top management, everybody Ethiopian, in Nigeria, and we agreed. We agreed.

“I’m just giving you snippets. I’ll do a full interview, I’ll not give more. So when I’m ready to talk, I will talk, but I cannot preempt Mr. President. We have raised all the concerns before him.”

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