The George Uboh Whistleblowers Network (GUWN) has claimed victory for the suspension of Nigeria Air by the federal government on Wednesday.
ElombahNews had earlier on the same day reported that the Federal government had announced the suspension of National carrier project till further notice.
The Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, making the announcement after the Federal Executive Council meeting, said:
“I regret to announce that the Federal Executive Council has taken the tough decision to suspend the National Carrier Project in the interim.”
Last month, this medium had reported that the Ministry of Aviation, through the Ministry of Transportation, had made clarifications on the discrepancies surrounding the national carrier.
The clarifications was in response to a Freedom of Information [FoI] request by GUWN on “Nigeria Air” which was then recently unveiled.
Not satisfied with the clarifications, the Whistleblowers Network had filed a lawsuit against the federal government over disparities arising from the project.
Reacting to the latest announcement by Sirika, GUWN in a press release said that the suspension is another victory for the Whistleblowers Network.
Chairman of GUWN, Dr. George Uboh, in a short statement made available to ElombahNews, said:
“Recall the series of communications between GUWN and Ministry of Transportation-Aviation in which GUWN requested certain pertinent information germane to Nigeria Air, and MoT-Aviation’s response via a 3-page letter that asked more questions than answer which led George Uboh and Goddy Ike to visit the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), the agency that granted the certificate on the Outline Business Case (OBC) for consideration by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
“After much criticisms on the Nigeria Air deal via TV and Radio appearances, and as GUWN is about to file a suit to annul Nigeria Air for not serving the public’s interest!
“FEC has cancelled the deal Wednesday, September 19, 2018. GUWN will still drag MoT-Aviation to court on the over $8m spent so far.