Nigeria Air has no operating licence, airlines allege
Airline Operators of Nigeria has stated that Nigeria Air, the country’s proposed national carrier, may not commence operations any time soon because it does not have an Airline Operator’s Certificate.
The spokesman of Airline Operators of Nigeria, Prof Obiora Okonkwo, said on Monday, that if Nigeria Air were to begin operations in October 2023, it would be doing so without a valid Air Operator Certificate.
Okonkwo said, “The AOC is still on stage one. I don’t want to waste my time on that thing anymore. If they are starting in October, they are going to be operating without AOC.”
Meanwhile, the CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, Mesfin Tasew, in an interview with Bloomberg TV, on Friday, revealed that the new national carrier, Nigerian Air, would begin operations by October.
He added that the firm was eager to see Nigeria Air start flying local and international routes.
Recall that Nigeria Air had been embroiled in a lot of controversy, especially in the twilight of former President Muhammedu Buhari’s administration.
It could not progress to phase two of the AOC process in June 2023, according to a letter from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.
Speaking further, Okonkwo, who is also the chairman of United Nigeria Airline, added that any action contradicting the court order would be a clear violation of the law.
He expressed a belief that the court would take the necessary step to address the matter.
“The court order is still sub-exiting, so anything against that is a total violation, surely the court would do the needful.
“We have made our position on Nigeria Air known. We don’t have any more time to waste. The industry is facing a more serious challenge now, which is our priority,” he stressed.
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FG to sell stakes in NNPC, 19 entities
The Federal Government may sell stakes in about 20 state-run companies to raise funds and improve governance in the entities.
This is according to a Bloomberg report. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation is among the firms the government may sell a stake in, according to the chief executive officer at the Ministry of Finance Incorporated, Armstrong Takang.
He stated that the agency is considering options including strategic sales and initial public offerings and aims to implement the plan within 18 months.
He noted that some of the entities need the private sector to take controlling shares and the major consideration for the government is to create value rather than retain control.
He said, “It is better for us to own 49 per cent of a high-performing entity than 90% of an entity that is underperforming.”
These sales may coincide with President Bola Tinubu’s plan to reform the country’s economy. Takang stated that the agency is in the process of appointing consultants including valuers, financial advisers, lawyers, bankers, and others to handle different aspects of the transactions.
In October 2022, sources at the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning exclusively told The PUNCH that the government was considering selling or concessioning about 27 national assets.
The assets included Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos, the National Integrated Power Projects in Olorunsogo, Calabar II, Benin (located at Ihorbor), Omotosho II, Geregu II plants, all the hydropower plants across the country, including Oyan, Lower Usuma, Katsina-Ala, and Giri plants.
The sources noted that more than 25 of such projects will be turned into active assets that will generate money in some ways to the Federal Government.
Since 2016, the Federal Government has mulled the idea of selling some national assets to boost its revenue.
