The immediate past Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has promised to revisit the moribund national carrier if reappointed and handed the aviation portfolio by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Sirika stated in an interview with journalists shortly after he had appeared before the Senate for his screening as a ministerial nominee.
The former minister said he achieved a lot on the projects before the end of Buhari’s first term.
He said, “Should Mr President deem it fit that I go to transportation in order to oversee aviation, if that is his wish, I will continue with that good job.
“I believe that having a very vibrant private sector-led national carrier is good for the economy of Nigeria. It is good for the population of Nigeria; it is also good for the centrality of Nigeria; it is good for the wealth and fortune of Nigeria.
“One airplane in Nigeria is equal to 300 direct jobs to start with. The relationship between the Gross Domestic Product and air transportation is direct and we have the biggest GDP in Africa. By the United States estimation, we are a trillion dollar GDP; by official figures of the National Bureau of Statistics, we are half a trillion dollar GDP.
He also said, “We are at the centre of the world. We are highly mobile travelling people and this is why the prices of tickets are expensive; it is because we don’t have an alternative. We cannot match them; whatever they give, we have to take. It is capitalism; we cannot run away from it.
“If it is me or whoever is the minister, I think that this is a priority we will take, thank God a lot of job has been done.”
The minister also promised to address all issues relating to the Enugu airport where passengers were complaining about the runway and poor power supply.
The Minority Leader of the Senate, Enyinnaya Abaribe, had asked the former Aviation minister to address the issue of power supply to the airport.
Meanwhile, another ministerial nominee, Dr. Osagie Enahire, has promised to pay attention to the issue of the health insurance scheme if reappointed as minister.
