Kaduna – The Minister of Aviation , Sen. Hadi Sirika, on Thursday ruled out government’s interference in the recruitment and operations of Nigeria Air, expected to commence services in December. Sirika gave the assurance at a lecture, held at the Air Force Institute of Technology’s 47th convocation in Kaduna. Speaking on “Civil-Military Partnership towards a Thriving Aviation Industry in Nigeria’’, the minister said that Nigerian pilots would, however, constitute the backbone of the operations of the company. He explained that the airline was unveiled in London for visibility but that investors in the company would decide the running of the airline. “There will be no management control whatsoever. But I want to warn you that the people who are going to do recruitment ab initio will be a company that is world-class. He said that Nigeria Air would be different from the grounded Nigeria airways. “The ownership is different. It is different because it is private sector-driven. “Government will own minority share of less than five per cent. “Nigeria Airways died due to so many reasons, including governance issues and also that of finance. “Nigeria Airways was owned by the government of Nigeria and over time it lost track and lost funding and someone, therefore, decided to shut it down and it died.’’ (NAN)

Good way to go......

. APC just too funny, you want to own 5% and bid out 95% to foreign partners like Ethiopian airways or Kenyan airways, And you want Nigerians to patronize Foriegn airliner (posing as Nigerian air) with only Nigeria air logo (logo that cost $600000) What you simply want to do is kill the market of indegenous airlines like air peace, azman and arik. Last last only 5% profit goes to Nigeria, while Kenyans or Ethiopias take 95% of the profit, and Nigeria may wave landing cost and parking cost for them. What a sweet deal for the lucky foriegn partners. Nigeria doesn't have $300m start up cost yet, abacha loot is $350m, yet Buhari and the governors can sign out $1bn from excess crude account. Very soon the would say goverment don't have business doing business and yet UAE as many state owned businesses, same with Qatar owning a share in Porsche automobile parent company and Ethiopia, Rwanda and Kenya all run a successful state own business