Minister clarifies Nigeria has no preferred bidder for national carrier

*The Federal Ministry of Aviation denies allegation of favouritism and urges all interested partners and the public to discountenance the misleading report of a preferred bidder, and proceed with their proposals

Emmanuel Akosile | ConsumerConnect

Following alleged favouritism for a particular bidder, the Federal Ministry of Aviation, in Abuja, FCT, has refuted a recent report that the West African country has chosen Qatar Airways as the preferred bidder for Nigeria Air, the country’s new national carrier.

ConsumerConnect reports the Ministry stated that the report came barely two days after the issuance of a Request For Proposal published in local and international news media platforms.

The Ministry said the report was not only false but capable of discrediting the process of establishing the airline and discouraging interested parties to the deal.

James Odaudu, Director of Public Relations in the Federal Ministry of Aviation, in a statement said: “We wish to state that throughout the process leading to the publication of the Request for Proposal, the guiding principle has been transparency and accountability, which we promised will remain till the final delivery of the project, and by which we stand.

“We wish to state categorically that no corporate entity or individual has been appointed or selected, or even preferred for the project, as the process for selection has just started with the Request for Proposal.”

According to the Minister, “all interested partners and the public are therefore, advised to discountenance the report and proceed with their proposals.

“We assure them of our unalloyed commitment to transparency and accountability till the end of the process.”

The Federal Ministry of Aviation is one of the Federal Ministries of Nigeria that regulates air travel and aviation services in Nigeria.

The current Honourable Minister of Aviation is Hadi Sirika.