Court nullifies sale of Nigeria Air to Ethiopian Airlines
06 August 2024 |
3:35 am
Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of Federal High Court, Lagos has nullified the sale of Nigeria Air to Ethiopian Airlines by the Muhammadu Buhari administration. Justice Lewis-Allagoa also ordered the Federal Government to halt plans to establish a national carrier, Nigeria Air. The judge delivered the judgment while determining the issues in the suit filed by…
Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of Federal High Court, Lagos has nullified the sale of Nigeria Air to Ethiopian Airlines by the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
Justice Lewis-Allagoa also ordered the Federal Government to halt plans to establish a national carrier, Nigeria Air.
The judge delivered the judgment while determining the issues in the suit filed by Registered Trustees of the Airline Operators of Nigeria and five other aviation industry stakeholders against Nigeria Air.
The plaintiffs in the suit are the Registered Trustees of the Airline Operators of Nigeria, Azman Air Services Limited, Air Peace Limited, Max Air Limited, United Nigeria Airlines Company Limited, and Topbrass Aviation Limited; while the defendants are Nigeria Air Limited, Ethiopian Airlines, the former Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika, Federal Ministry of Aviation, and the former Attorney General of the Federation and Justice Minister, Abubakar Malami.
The plaintiffs, in their originating summons, challenged the sale and transfer of shares of Nigeria Air, claimed that the bidding process for Nigeria Air, facilitated by the Federal Government, was fraught with irregularities and favoured Ethiopian Airlines, a foreign entity wholly owned by the Ethiopian Government.
They further argued that the Federal Ministry of Transportation representatives, who hold significant control in Nigeria Air, failed to comply with the request for proposal guidelines, leading to the exclusion of local airlines from the bidding process.
The plaintiffs said the third and fourth defendants, who were key government officials, facilitated a skewed bidding process, granting the second defendant and its consortium unprecedented privileges, which included a 15-year tax moratorium, exclusive terminal buildings in Lagos and Abuja, and significant financial support, which they argued would undermine local airlines and the Nigerian economy.
According to the plaintiffs, the consortium, led by Ethiopian Airlines, was discreetly allowed to be the sole bidder and winner, contrary to the principles of free and fair competition.
They argued that the second defendant’s business plan also proposed strategies that could stultify the operations of local airlines, further jeopardising the Nigerian aviation industry.
The plaintiffs further highlighted that the transaction advisor for the deal, Tianaero Nigeria Limited, was inadequately qualified and lacked the necessary experience, raising further concerns about the legitimacy of the bidding process.
The plaintiffs, therefore, prayed the court for an order to nullify the entire bidding and selection process for the Nigeria Air project, as well as the approval and selection of Ethiopian Airlines by the defendants.
While delivering judgment, yesterday, Justice Lewis-Allagoa, also discountenanced the sole issues raised by the second defendant (Ethiopian Airlines) and held that: “all the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs are granted except for relief number eight.”
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