No court can stop Nigeria Air from flying - Sirika

Hadi Sirika, the minister of aviation has said that the federal government is going ahead with establishing a national carrier despite the subsisting suit challenging the project.

During a stakeholders appreciation forum for the reconstruction of Lagos airport runway 18L, Sirika insisted that aviation stakeholders and unions had sufficient time to participate in the process and can not stall the project with legal suits. He said he does not see the possibility that any court of competent jurisdiction will erect a roadblock to the emergence of the national carrier.

The minister said he personally and individually engaged indigenous carriers to participate in the project including Air Peace, Azman Air and Max Air but they turned down the invitation because it was not formal.

“I have been very transparent in the processes put in place to deliver the national carrier. If anyone wants to invest in a company, no one can stop them from investing. You can own a company 100 percent. If anyone wants to invest, why not ? We want foreign direct investment,” Sirika said.

He described it as totally unacceptable and unfair for stakeholders to claim that they have not been carried along on the national carrier project, adding that anybody who is parading such information is working contrary to the actualisation of the aviation road map.

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“Every information or documents pertaining to the project is domiciled at the ministry of aviation and Infrastructure Construction Regulatory Commission which are driving processes leading to the national carrier,” Sirika said.

On the demolition of structures at the Lagos airport, the minister said there is no going back on the project to ensure Nigeria delivers State-of-the-art facilities that will transform into an aerotropolis.

Nigeria, he said, cannot short change itself on the global move to deliver world class air transport infrastructure as it’s been done in other developed countries such as United Arab Emirates, America, amongst others.

“If I have my way, those structures from the local airport to Bristow will be demolished tomorrow and pave the way for the emergence of a befitting airport city. Would you not like to see shopping malls, befitting car parks and other support facilities like you find in other parts of the world?” he said.

He said he will put measures in place to sustain the achievements in the aviation industry during the Buhari administration.

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.