Rep who labelled Nigeria Air as fraud asked me for bribe, Sirika alleges

Former Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, has accused the lawmaker who branded the National Carrier as fraud of demanding five percent shares of Nigeria Air from him.

During a hearing by the House of Representatives, Chairman of the House Committee on Aviation, Nnolim Nnaji, had declared the launch of Nigeria Air a fraud.

He had picked holes in the project, criticising the Federal Government for what he described as poor handling.

But speaking when he appeared on ARISE TV on Sunday, Sirika said the lawmaker approached him and asked for five percent shares of the airline for “him and his people”.

Recall that the House of Representatives Chairman of the House Committee on Aviation, Nnolim Nnaji, asked the federal government to suspend operation of Nigeria Air and described it as a fraud.  Nnaji Nnolim, chairman of the committee, said this at an investigative hearing with Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) and representatives of ministry of aviation on Tuesday, June 6. Nnaji and other lawmakers said that the Ministry of Aviation’s claim of Nigeria Air being only unveiled and not launched, is an attempt to divert their attention. They expressed their disappointment when told by NAMA that the aircraft bearing Nigerian Air design which arrived the country days ago, was a chartered flight.