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A group under the aegis of Concerned Northern Forum has called for the arrest and prosecution of the immediate-past Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika over his alleged complicity in the controversial Nigeria Air project.
Two days ago, the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation described the purported launch of Nigeria Air at the twilight of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration as a fraud.
The lawmakers came to this conclusion after the management of the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) disclosed that the aircraft Sirika presented as Nigeria’s national career was a chartered plane from Ethiopia Airlines.
It is against this background that the northern group demanded the arrest and prosecution of the ex-aviation minister by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
In a statement by its chairman, Ali Muhammad, on Thursday, June 8, 2023, the group described Sirika as a tyrant, who went ahead with the failed national carrier project despite advice against it by aviation experts and operators.
“The former minister has acted with so much impunity on several occasions as if the law cannot get to him. He had continuously operated as a tyrant minister, refusing to listen to no one, aviation experts, and airline operators of Nigeria who advised against this project, the group said.
“This national embarrassment and waste of resources incurred on the country would have been averted if he had listened to advice, yet Sirika went ahead knowing it was a charade, to deceive Nigerians.
“This is an alleged fraud, very much within the reach of the EFCC and the anti-graft agency should, as a matter of national urgency, immediately arrest and investigate Sirika for allegedly committing financial and other related crimes, as he has been deceiving Nigerians for eight years.’’
Sirika has not responded to the allegations against him about the controversial aircraft he presented to Nigerians as a national carrier.