Plan To Establish ‘Nigeria Air’ Ended Due To Politicisation – CEO Ethiopian Airlines

Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Mesfin Tasew Bekele said the plan to establish a carrier with the Nigerian government ended due to the politicisation surrounding the now-abandoned Nigeria Air project.

During an interview with Bloomberg Africa on Tuesday, August 27, Bekele disclosed that the Nigerian government did not welcome the plan.

We intended to help Nigeria, but since the government objected to the idea, there is no need for Ethiopian Airlines to go there.”

The fraudulent Nigerian Air project was propagated under the former Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika, who is now facing a corruption lawsuit following West Africa Weekly’s investigative reports.

However, Bekele stated that the Airlines would expand to other African countries.

A few African governments have requested us to go there to form airlines in partnership,” Tasew stated, adding, “Others have requested us to manage their own airlines without equity partnership, which we are considering as well.”

He further revealed that the company will partner with “at least two African nations in the coming 12 months.

“This could involve investing in existing operators or starting brand-new airlines with an African government,” he added.

Read Also: Nigeria No Longer Interested In Airline Partnership – Ethiopian Airlines

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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