The Federal Government has denied the existence of a preferred bidder for Nigeria Air stating that some vested interests have been promoting certain agenda including Qatar Airways.
The Director, Public Affairs, Ministry of Aviation, Mr James Odaudu made this known in a statement on Wednesday in Lagos.
Odaudu said that there was no preferred bidder and that transparency and accountability had been the watchword.
He said: “It has come to our notice that some persons with vested interests have been promoting some organisations that have bided for the forthcoming national carrier, Nigeria Air.
“For some time now, the name Qatar Airways has been coming up as the core investor of the airline in the media reports, but we wish to state that no preferred bidder has been selected for the national carrier, Nigeria Air.
“Similar reports coming just two days after the issuance of a Request For Proposal which was published in local and international news media, is not only false but capable of discrediting the process for the establishment of the airline, and discouraging interested parties.
“We wish to state that throughout the process leading to the publication of the Request for Proposal, the guiding principle has been transparency and accountability, which we promised, will remain till the final delivery of the project, and by which we stand.
“We wish to state categorically that no corporate entity or individual has been appointed or selected, or even preferred for the project as the process for selection has just started with the Request for Proposal.
“All interested partners and the public are therefore advised to discountenance the report and proceed with their proposals as we assure them of our unalloyed commitment to transparency and accountability till the end of the process.”
Odaudu said the driving force was the commitment of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to bequeath to the country a national carrier that Nigerians would be proud of, and their determination and commitment to it remains stoic.
He, therefore, appeal to media practitioners to always confirm information from the right quarters before going to press so as to avoid misleading the public as in this particular case.
