Barely 24 hours after announcing Ethiopian Airlines as the preferred bidder of the proposed national carrier Nigeria Air with MRS, Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) and the Nigerian Sovereign Fund as Nigerian investors in the project, the Federal Government of Nigeria, has removed the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) as one of the Investors in the project.

Speaking in Abuja on Friday, the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika unveiled Ethiopian Airlines as the preferred bidder for the Nigeria Air Project with a 49% stake, while three Nigerian investors MRS, Skypower Aviation Handling Company(SAHCO) and the Nigerian Sovereign Fund will share 46%, the Federal Government of Nigeria owns 5%.

However, not quite long after the announcement was made that the government through the Special Assistant Public Affairs to the Minister of Aviation, James Odaudu issued a reversal statement titled: Error of Inclusion of NSIA as an Investor in Nigeria Air was an error.

The statement read: “Our attention has been drawn to the inadvertent inclusion of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) as part of the private investors in the Nigeria Air project.

“We wish to clarify that the Authority is not involved, in any way, as part of the private equity ownership of the airline, being a government establishment. It should be noted that the NSIA was not mentioned in Honourable Minister’s presentation, but only in the general brief given to the media, an error made during its preparation.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the equity ownership structure of Nigeria Air stands as Ethiopian Airlines 49%, Nigerian private investors (SAHCO, MRS and other institutional investors) 46% and the Federal Government 5%. The public, especially the business community and the media should please take note,” the statement added. (Nigerian Tribune)