Market News

By Hilka Birns

The Nigerian government may resume talks with Ethiopian Airlines to revive the stalled national carrier project, Nigeria Air (Lagos), but under a new name, the newspaper Punch reported citing sources and "recent events and documents".

This follows tensions between the two countries over the failure in 2024 of the Nigeria Air project, which would have seen an Ethiopian Airlines-led consortium take a 49% stake in the joint venture with the Nigerian federal government.

Nigeria Air was the brainchild of former president Muhammadu Buhari and former aviation minister Hadi Sirika, but the project collapsed after a change in government. Under the current president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and aviation minister Festus Keyamo, it was discarded as a sellout to the Ethiopians. Keyamo, in particular, labelled it as not a genuine Nigerian initiative.

The proposed venture was eventually declared "null and void" on August 5, 2024, by the High Court in Lagos. The ruling followed a lawsuit by the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), which argued that the project would harm local airlines. An investigation into alleged corruption by former officials is ongoing.

According to Punch, Keyamo's opposition had escalated tensions, leading to diplomatic interventions between Nigeria and Ethiopia. Ethiopian Airlines reportedly expressed displeasure over Keyamo's stance, fearing it could harm relations, but both countries have since engaged in discussions. Keyamo recently visited Ethiopian Airlines, although he denied any new talks about reviving the national carrier project.

Equally, Ibrahim Abubakar Kana, permanent secretary of Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, was recently at pains to clarify that he was not suggesting a revival of the Nigeria Air deal with Ethiopian Airlines when he referred to the broader vision of the administration to reconsider a national carrier.