Aviation ministry permanent secretary clarifies statement on reviving Nigeria Air project

Ibrahim Kana, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, has clarified his inaugural statement regarding the revival of the Nigeria Air project. Media reports had explained from the newly appointed permanent secretary’s statement that he received a directive from President Bola Tinubu to restart the national air carrier project.

In a statement on Wednesday, Kana said he “received no such instruction”. “Since my inaugural statement on Monday at the hand-over ceremony, I have been inundated with inquiries about my reference to the revival of the National Carrier Project,” he said.

“For the avoidance of doubt, I never said that there is a mandate to revive the botched Nigeria Air deal with Ethiopian airline.

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“I received no such instruction. I was only referring to the general vision of the Administration to still consider a National Carrier Project if it is favourable to the country and under the guidance and directives of Mr President and the Honourable Minister of Aviation.

“I hope this clarifies all the ambiguities surrounding my earlier statement on this issue.” “I pledge absolute loyalty to the Honourable Minister and remain dedicated to working closely with him to drive the Ministry’s agenda forward,” he said.

He said the future of aviation in Nigeria is “bright, innovative, and reflective of the aspirations of our great nation”.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.