The Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of Ethiopian Airlines, Mesfin Tasew, has revealed that the creation of a national airline in Nigeria has been influenced by political factors.
He explained that Ethiopian Airlines, recognized as the largest airline in Africa, aimed to assist the Nigerian government in establishing a successful airline; however, the initiative faced opposition from local airlines, leading to its politicization.
The latest update marks another occasion in which the airline’s CEO has commented following the annulment of its selection as the equity partner for Nigeria Air.
Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, halted the formation of Nigeria Air upon taking office a year ago.
On August 5, 2024, Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court in Lagos ruled on a case brought forth by the Registered Trustees of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), determining that the actions and decisions regarding the sale of shares and operations of Nigeria Air to Ethiopian Airlines were in breach of several pertinent laws, including the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020, SEC Nigeria Consolidated Rules & Regulations 2013 (as amended in 2022), the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Convention, the Civil Aviation Act, and the Public Procurement Act, among others.
The judge granted most of the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs, including setting aside the entire bidding process for Nigeria Air.
However, in an interview with Bloomberg, which our correspondent monitored, the Ethiopian Airlines CEO stated that the project to help Nigeria set up an airline had been closed.
He said, “We had a great hope of establishing a very strong national carrier for Nigeria. We started but unfortunately it didn’t become successful after the change of government in Nigeria; but that project is closed now.
“We don’t have a current plan to go to Nigeria as it stands. We don’t intend to partner with any of the Nigerian airlines to date because it has been politicised.
“We tried to help the country by partnering with the government and other institutional investors in Nigeria to use our expertise and experience and establish a reliable airline that would be profitable in the short term.
“But as you may have read from the media, Nigerian airlines did not welcome it.
“They considered it in the wrong direction. They believed that if Ethiopian Airlines goes into Nigeria it will hurt their business, which is not right. We intended to help the country but since they objected to the idea, there is no need for Ethiopian Airlines to go there as long as they don’t accept it; we don’t want to be a problem there.”
Earlier, the Airline Operators in Nigeria (AON), through its President, Alhaji Abdulmunaf Yunusa Sarina, said the Nigeria Air unveiled by former Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, was a sham.
“It was also a surreptitious plan to kill Nigerian indigenous airlines and handover the commonwealth of Nigeria’s huge aviation market with over 85 Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASAs) around the world to Ethiopian Airlines through the back door without investing a penny into the Nigerian economy in an attempt to satisfy the whims and caprices of some selfish and unpatriotic individuals,” Sarina said.