Nigeria's Ministry of Aviation owes Ethiopian Airlines (ET, Addis Ababa International) USD211,000 for breaching contract terms related to the failed Nigeria Air (Lagos) joint venture between the two parties, the Ethiopian carrier's CEO, Mesfin Tasew, has told the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Abuja, according to several local news reports.
The airline was not immediately available for comment to ch-aviation.
Nigeria's EFCC is probing the alleged misappropriation of NGN2.7 billion naira (USD1.74 million) allocated to the project. Tasew and other Ethiopian Airlines officials were reportedly interviewed as part of the investigation, during which the chief executive detailed how the terms of the partnership, established during the tenure of former Nigerian aviation minister, Hadi Sirika, were not upheld, resulting in a breach of contract, The Nation newspaper reported.
An unnamed EFCC official was cited as saying that "some officials of Ethiopian Airlines were in the country [...]. We debriefed them, and they explained the details of the Nigeria Air project. They confirmed that the implementation of the agreement was faulty because the Ministry of Aviation did not keep to the terms. They also said the ministry owed the airline about USD211,000."
Last week, the Ethiopian Tribune reported that Tasew confirmed the Nigerian government was no longer interested in establishing the joint venture. This comes as no surprise as the new aviation minister, Festus Keyamo, recently said the process of establishing Nigeria Air will remain suspended indefinitely as it was never a genuine Nigerian project and "just Ethiopian Airlines trying to fly the Nigerian flag".
As ch-aviation previously reported, Ethiopian Airlines claims to have acquired three B737-8s for Nigeria Air, which it has since deployed with its other partner carriers, including ASKY Airlines (KP, Lomé).
Nigeria Air was initiated under Sirika and former President Muhammadu Buhari to establish a national carrier in partnership with Ethiopian Airlines leading a consortium of Nigerian investors. Legal challenges from Nigerian private carriers and a change in government led to the project's collapse. Following an investigation ordered by Keyamo, the EFCC arrested and charged Sirika and family members with corruption involving NGN2.7 billion related to the project.
