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  • Updated: July 16, 2020

Nigeria's Name Was Thrown In Mud By Actions Of UK Government - Hadi Sirika

Nigeria's Name Was Thrown In Mud By Actions Of UK Government

 

The denial of Air Peace landing permit by the British Government has been described by the Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika, as a "Nigerian issue," saying that the name of "Nigeria was being thrown into the mud by whatever Britain was doing."

The British Government denied Air Peace landing permit when it tried to evacuate Nigerians stranded in the United Kingdom over the pandemic.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the airline, Allen Onyema, said, during a webinar on Tuesday, that blames had been cast in the directions of the Nigerian Government but that the aviation minister had "swung into action" when reached out to concerning the issue.

He said, “I want to thank Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika for his support. When this issue happened, a lot of people who were uninformed about this issue told me that it must be the minister that did this.

“I want to use this opportunity to let everyone know that when I called the minister on this issue, he swung into action.

READ ALSO: Air Peace Denied Landing Rights By UK For Evacuation Of Nigerians

“The Federal Government of Nigeria gave maximum support; it is not an Air Peace issue. The minister saw it as a Nigerian issue because the name of Nigeria was being thrown into the mud by whatever Britain was doing due to the fact that it was a diplomatic charter.

“I want to use this opportunity to clear the air that the Minister of Aviation gave heavy support even in the night. He had to send me voice notes. He had to engage the external affairs minister on what was happening.

“When asked why they were turning their backs just 48 hours to the flight, they said we should produce a TCO. We produced the mail from ICAO saying during the pandemic these rules are relaxed and you can fly without TCO.

“They did not know that earlier, they sent a mail to us that we didn’t need TCO. They sent us the mail and that was how we did the first evacuation flight.

“What opened their eyes was the fact that a Nigerian airline was sending two airplanes coming to take Nigerians from Britain at a ridiculously low price which was exposing everybody, and they stopped us.

“I did what I did in order to show my support to these two ministers and to demonstrate that Nigeria is not all about money.

“I don’t want Nigerians to suffer abroad because it could have taken another two weeks to get another airline. These people have stayed there for four months.

“I had 40 people on that airplane flying free of charge because they did not have money. I support the DG of NCAA when he said there should not be personalisation of blames. We all must come together to see aviation survives.”

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