Festus Keyamo

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have begun investigations into the Nigeria Air agreement, which was finalized by former Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika.

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, who made this disclosure while speaking on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Wednesday, further detailed that there were no plans to designate a local airline as the national airline.

“The EFCC is investigating that deal, there is a criminal investigation going on. I have called for the report,” he said.

Keyamo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), criticized the Sirika deal shortly after he was sworn in as a minister last August. He suspended the entire arrangement, which had been hastily unveiled in the final days of the former president Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, to allow for a proper audit of contracts.

On the final day of the Buhari administration in May, the then-interim Managing Director of Nigeria Air,  Capt. Dapo Olumide, had stated that the aircraft used to unveil the nation’s national career was a legally chartered flight from Ethiopian Airlines.

The Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Aviation in Nigeria have both declared the Nigeria Air launch to be a hoax.