Former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has denied spending N100 billion on the Nigeria Air project under the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
During an appearance as a guest on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Tuesday, Sirika stated that due process was followed in attempts to execute the project.
While denying claims that he spent N100 billion on the project, the former minister said only about N3 billion out of the total N5 billion budget was released.
“It is a lie that I spent N100 billion, and it was lost in the process. The total budget for the national carrier was N5bn, the total amount released was N3 billion, and I left the ministry with over N1 billion.
“We went through every single step of the ICRC process, and we got it to the end, and we had an airline.
“Some people went to court, Airspeace, United and Azman went to court to say that we cannot, as a government, establish an airline while we take a stake of five per cent, and that is what stalled it.
Sirika, who left office in 2023, is facing trial for alleged corruption and abuse of office.
He is accused of awarding multi-billion naira contracts to companies owned by his family members, including his daughter, Fatima Sirika, and son-in-law, Jalal Hamma, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
