BREAKING: Former Aviation Minister Arrested Over ‘Fraudulent’ Launch Of Nigeria Air
Nigeria’s former aviation minister, Hadi Sirika, has arrived at the headquarters of the Department of State Services (DSS) for questioning.
It was learnt that Sirika arrived at the headquarters of the country’s secret police on Thursday in a Range Rover SUV.
“Hadi Sirika was invited by the DSS for questioning. He is being grilled; he arrived in a Range Rover SUV,” a security source said..
Sirika was the aviation minister in former President Muhammadu Buhari’s government.
Sirika and some of Nigeria Air have been facing the heat over the recent ‘launch’ of the airline in Abuja.
The acting Managing Director of Nigeria Air, Captain Dapo Olumide, recently revealed more information about the ‘fraudulent’ launch of the airline by the Buhari-led government at the twilight of the administration.
The administration had unveiled a Boeing 737-800 aircraft belonging to Ethiopian Airlines as a “Nigerian Air” plane.
Naija News House in May reported that the plane unveiled by Buhari as Nigerian Air a few days before he left office, was over 10 years old and belonged to Ethiopian Airlines.
Its registration number is ET-APL.
Plane Spotters, a platform which takes an inventory of aircraft, revealed its Mode is S Q4005C and its Serial Number is 40965/4075.
It noted, “The first flight was an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft. Then it became Malawi Airlines on 16th February 2014. It was then acquired again by Ethiopian Airlines in 2015 and has been operating under Ethiopian Air since then.”
When Olumide appeared before the Senate Committee on Aviation, he confirmed that the aircraft that flew in with the logo of Nigeria Air was chartered from the Ethiopian Airline for the purpose of unveiling the Nigeria Air logo.
Olumide told the Senate Committee that Nigeria did not have an operating licence for full flight operations, noting that the processes to acquire the license were still in the early stages but the Buhari-led government used the chartered Ethiopian aircraft to show Nigerians and investors what the logo looks like.
The minister said at a recent Arise News interview that the landing of the Ethiopian aircraft in Abuja was “a marketing strategy.
