By Wole Oyebade (Lagos) and Azimazi Momoh Jimoh (Abuja)
Stakeholders in the aviation sector are divided over the fate of the national carrier.
While some described it as a white elephant project that should be forgotten, others urged the Federal Government to rework its business case and equity and ownership structure, to attract reputable investors at home and abroad.
The government had on Wednesday suspended indefinitely the December 24 takeoff of the proposed carrier.
Operators under the aegis of Airlines Operators of Nigeria (AON) yesterday commended the Federal Government for taking a bold step by suspending the project, saying the decision was in the interest of the nation.
The Chairman of AON, Capt. Nogie Meggison, said his members had noted that the process was not transparent and did not clearly define the role of private investors or address sustainability issues.
“At this time of our national limited resources and struggle to recover from recession, AON would like to state that there are private Nigerian airline investors ready to invest and already investing heavily in the sector and are only asking for a friendlier operational environment and infrastructure support.
“Setting up a national carrier will cost Nigeria at least $3 billion. A single Boeing777 costs about $320 million.
Is it wise or is it our priority as a nation to take $3 billion from the coffers today and put it into a venture that will for sure go down the drain within a maximum of five years?”
He noted that a national carrier would need an additional cash injection of $500 million in subsidy per year on average for the next 10 years to keep the airline afloat.
Or, as I always say, government has no business in business,” Meggison added.
The Aviation Safety Roundtable Initiative (ASRTI), an industry think-tank, said Nigeria needed a carrier in the status of Nigeria Airways in its heyday to be relevant in aviation’s global community.
The group, however, called for clarity on the plan and better equity and parity between Nigerian and foreign investors.
Its chairman, Gbenga Olowo, said ASRTI would encourage not just minimal involvement of government in the process but also restriction.
This would give a level playing field to Nigerian investors.
“If and when, as expected, this process goes ahead to the finish line, it would be helpful to consider the employment of reputable headhunters in the nomination of even the startup management team.
This is because ‘management challenges’ played a prominent role in the demise of previous attempts.
ASRTI’s position is patriotic and geared toward avoiding the possible colossal and usual loss of both revenue and man-hours from our commonwealth, as experienced in past unguided attempts,” Olowo said.
The Secretary general of ASRTI, retired Group Capt. John Ojikutu, explained that the buildup must start all over again.
He said it was a task that must be done if we must be relevant in international routes and fulfill our obligations to the various Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASAs).
He proposed that the new design must have not more than 10 per cent holding shares for federal and state governments; 40 per cent for foreign technical investors; and 20 per cent for credible Nigerian investors and the Nigerian public through Initial Public Offer (IPO) to own 30 per cent.
“I became suspicious of the programme when the minister came out with five per cent for the Federal Government and 50 per cent for private investors, without mentioning who the technical investors or foreign investors are and to whom the remaining 45 per cent holdings would go to.
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