Former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has refuted allegations that N100 billion was spent on the Nigeria Air project during his tenure under the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
Appearing on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Tuesday, Sirika clarified that only a fraction of the allocated budget was actually released and utilized. According to him, just N3 billion out of the approved N5 billion was disbursed, and over N1 billion remained unspent when he left office.
“It is a lie that I spent N100 billion, and it was lost in the process,” Sirika said. “The total budget for the national carrier was N5 billion. The amount released was N3 billion, and I left over N1 billion in the ministry’s account.”
He emphasized that due process was followed through the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) framework, and a national carrier was eventually established.
Sirika blamed legal challenges from local airlines Air Peace, United Nigeria, and Azman for stalling the project. These airlines opposed the government’s plan to hold a minority five percent stake in the carrier, which led to a court case.
“If the case had been pursued by the government, the airline would be operational by now,” he stated.
Sirika, who left office in 2023, is currently facing trial over corruption and abuse of office charges. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alleges he awarded multi-billion naira contracts to companies linked to his daughter, Fatima Sirika, and son-in-law, Jalal Hamma.
