Court gives final decision on operation of new competitor for Air Peace, others, airlines react

• Airline Operators applauded the court for upholding justice and disproving the purported sale of Nigeria Air to Ethiopian Airlines
• This occurred after the Federal High Court declared on Monday that Ethiopian Airlines' acquisition of Nigeria Air was unlawful
• The judge claimed that the action was against the Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria's Consolidated Rules & Regulations 2013

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over 3-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

On Tuesday, the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) praised the judiciary for enforcing justice and invalidating the alleged Nigeria Air sale to Ethiopian Airlines.

Airlines applauded President Bola Tinubu's administration and Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo SAN for scrapping the Nigeria Air process. Photo Credit: Daniel Garrido, Catherine Falls Commercial
Source: Getty Images

The operators made this known in a statement released in Lagos and signed by its president, Abdulmunaf Sarina.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Federal High Court Judge Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa ruled on Monday that the sale of Nigeria Air to Ethiopian Airlines was null and void.

Sarina applauded the court's audacious and patriotic proclamations and directives.

“The bold and patriotic declarations and orders made by the court leaves no one in doubt that the entire bidding, approval and so called unveiling processes of the purported national carrier was nothing other than a sham set up to hoodwink Nigerians.“It was also a surreptitious plan to kill Nigerian indigenous airlines and handover the commonwealth of Nigeria’s huge aviation market with over 85 Bilateral Air Services Agreements around the world to Ethiopian Airlines.“We, therefore, thank the court for standing tall in the face of untold pressure from very high quarters.

Operators hail FG

Sarina further praised the government of President Bola Tinubu and Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo SAN for calling off the Nigeria Air process as originally scheduled.

NAN further notes that the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 was violated by the action, behavior, or decision made in the sale of Nigeria Air's shares and operations, according to Justice Lewis-Allagoa's ruling.

Champion reported that the move violated the Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria Consolidated Rules & Regulations 2013 (as revised in 2022), according to Lewis-Allagoa.

According to him, the procedure violated the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, the Concession Regulatory Commission (Est.) Act of 2005, the Civil Aviation Act, the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission Act, the ICAQ Convention, and the Public Procurement Act.

He added that the move went against the federal government's Public Private Partnership Procurement Procedures as well as the National Policy on Public Private Partnership.

The court further declared that Ethiopian Airlines and its fictitious "consortium" were the recipients of the Nigeria Air shares, and that all administrative decisions and activities related to the transaction were null and void.

It further stated Ethiopian Airlines' incapacity to bid on Nigeria Air shares and launch operations in accordance with such bids.

Nigerian airline suspends operation

Legit.ng reported that Nigerian airline Max Air announced the indefinite suspension of its domestic flight operations from Friday, August 2, 2024.

Max Air disclosed this in a statement, explaining that the decision to halt operations is due to the ongoing hunger protests.

Leadership reports that Max Air is the sole airline to halt operations because of the protests, while others experienced delays due to low passenger turnout and flight disruption.

Source: Legit.ng