By Adesina Soyooye
The Management of Airpeace, Nigeria’s largest Airline, has called the immediate past Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika, a blatant liar.
Sirika has been under the slammer since he left office, especially, since after it was revealed that he deceived Nigerians by renting an Ethiopian Airline Aircraft, which he unveiled as a Nigeria Air Aircraft, to mark the take-off of Airline.
After the “show” at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, where the Aircraft was welcomed with pomp and pageantry, it flew back to its owners, Ethiopian Airline.
Since then, and especially since the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation called it a fraud, not a few Nigerians have called for the arrest and investigation of Sirika in connection with the role he, allegedly, played in the show of shame.
In a bid to defend himself and explain the role he played, the former Minister appeared on Arise Television on Saturday, June 10, 2023, to tell his story. But his explanation seem to have exposed him to more controversies.
For instance, he accused Honourable Nnolim Nnaji, former Chairman of the House Committee on Aviation of dubbing the Nigeria Air project a fraud, because Nnaji requested for bribe from him. He wanted five per cent shares for him and his colleagues, Sirika said.
He also denied being part of the Abuja launch, insisting he was invited to it by the investors. But investigation shows he and his Ministry were the masterminds. They were the ones who invited people to the occasion.
However, Airpeace has taken an exception to what he said about the Airline. Sirika had said that Airpeace leased two Boeing 777 for which the Airline is paying the sum of $250,000 per month. Sirika added that the Aircraft were parked for months for which it incurred loses of $19 million and the engines and landing gears became due for replacement.
He also said that the Airline discontinued its Dubai route because it lacked capacity.
But in a swift reaction, with facts, the Airline said the former Minister was 100 per cent incorrect, and called him a blarant liar. It said it was sad the Sirika was ignorant of the happenings in his Ministry.
For instance, Airpeace said it boasts of three Boeing 777 and not two. It said it purchased the three outrightly, and neither leased nor rented any of them. It also said it incurred no losses anywhere and debunked Sirika’s claim that it discontinued its Dubai route because it lacked capacity. It disclosed that it discontinued because Dubai banned Nigerians from getting visas, one of the reasons Emirates Airlines stopped coming to Nigeria.
Here’s what the Airline said in part, in the statement, signed by its Chief Operating Officer, Toyin Olajide:
“Air peace never incurred such a loss, we never paid rentals contrary to his lies. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, can attest to the purchase and ownership of the Aircraft by Air peace.
“Secondly, Sirika said the airline stopped flying to Dubai because ‘we lack capacity’. This is another stark lie.
“Air Peace never stopped the Dubai operations because of lack of capacity. Air Peace commenced operations into the UAE in July, 2019, but in October 2022, the UAE Government announced a total visa ban on Nigerians.
“Neither Emirates nor Air Peace is operating the Nigerian/UAE route since the ban. The persisting non-issuance of visas and the accompanying inconveniences necessitated the suspension of our Dubai operations from November 22, 2022 till date.
“For the former minister to ascribe the suspension to ‘lack of capacity’ is not only shocking but also shows how keen he is to disparage an airline which ascendancy, has defied all the commercial odds and hostile environment placed on its path to continue to serve our nation proudly.
“How could an airline that placed a firm order for 13 brand new E2-195 aircraft, a firm order of 15 Boeing 737 Max 8 & Max 10, with over 30 aircraft already in its existing fleet be accused of lacking in capacity?
“How can an Airline that stood up for the entire nation during the Covid-19 outbreak, and embarked on rescue operations worldwide, evacuating Nigerians from far away China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, India, UK and South Africa during the Covid-19 lockdowns be accused of lacking capacity?
“We implore the general public to disregard these lies told by the former minister of Aviation against Air Peace during the interview.
“We take serious exception to a situation where Airpeace is being misrepresented in the public sphere, causing wrong perceptions about our brand”
