The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika has reacted to the offer by the management of Emirates Airlines to partner with the Nigerian government in its quest to establish a national carrier. The Minister in a statement signed by his Special Assistant, Public Affairs, James Odaudu said the offer serves as an encouragement to the many bidders currently preparing their Public-Private Partnership (PPP) bids for Nigeria Air in response to the recently advertised Request for Proposal.
Sirika, in the statement which was obtained on Monday, added that “the offer by Emirates cannot be anything other than an endorsement of the need, the zeal, and, of course, the process for the national carrier project. It is also an expression of confidence of the international aviation community in the commitment of the Buhari government to it.”
According to the statement, the management of Emirates Airlines recently made an offer to partner with the Nigerian Government in its quest to establish a national carrier and this has elicited requests for clarification, mostly from the media and industry stakeholders.
Speaking recently during a panel session moderated by Richard Quest to discuss the future of Aviation at the Dubai Expo 2020, Tim Clark, President of Emirates said the organisation would be very happy to help if any assistance was required in starting the national carrier. Clark said the establishment of a national carrier is an almost compelling case for Nigeria, going by certain indices.
