Senate Rejects Reviving Nigeria Air, Backs Direct Flights To China Under BASA

(Photo) The Nigerian Senate chamber during plenary in Abuja,
where senators rejected a proposal to revive the failed
Nigeria Air project and backed direct flights to China.

The Senate on Tuesday rejected a proposal to revive the contracts for the failed Nigeria Air national carrier project, describing the contracts as a waste of time and saying further discussion of the matter would be unproductive. The upper chamber instead threw its weight behind a motion seeking to enforce the Bilateral Air Services Agreement between Nigeria and China, so that Nigerian airlines can operate direct flights to China. What did the Senate resolve on Nigeria Air? Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the resolution after senators debated the motion, which was sponsored by Tahir Monguno of the All Progressives Congress, Borno North. Premium Times reports that although the lawmakers rejected reviving Nigeria Air, they resolved that Nigeria still needs a national carrier and urged the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development to explore the possibility of establishing one. Why did the Senate bury the Nigeria Air idea? The late former President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled Nigeria Air days before handing over power in May 2023, but the project quickly became embroiled in controversy over allegations of fraud and misrepresentation. In his testimony before a tribunal, which began on June 30, 2025, EFCC investigator Christopher Odofin alleged that former Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika disguised an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft as Nigeria's national carrier. The EFCC is prosecuting Sirika alongside his daughter, Fatima Sirika, her husband, Jalal Hamma, and their firm, Al Buraq Global Investment, on six counts including alleged contract fraud involving 1.5 billion naira and gratification proceeds of 1.3 billion naira. Prosecutors also alleged that Sirika corruptly awarded a consultancy contract for the project's commencement in 2023 to a firm belonging to Gabriel Tilmann, a professor described in court as the former minister's friend. What does the China BASA motion want? Monguno, the Senate chief whip, argued that the bilateral agreement was meant to establish scheduled direct flights between Nigeria and China, a step he said would transform Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja from destination airports into major gateways connecting West and Central Africa to East Asia. He listed potential benefits including shorter travel time, improved supply chain efficiency, foreign exchange retained in Nigeria, higher aeronautical revenue for Nigerian airports, growth for small and medium-sized enterprises, and increased non-oil and perishable exports. How would the agreement be enforced? Monguno proposed that the Ministry of Aviation and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority enforce the agreement through reciprocity in flight rights, rationalising competition from airlines operating through intermediate destinations, bilateral code-sharing arrangements and temporary airport fee waivers. He also suggested a direct naira settlement window using the existing bilateral currency swap framework to cut reliance on the US dollar, and urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to open diplomatic discussions with China on business visas for Nigerian traders and reciprocal airport slot allocations. How did senators react? Most senators who contributed to the debate supported the motion, agreeing that Nigerian carriers deserve the same access to Chinese routes that Chinese carriers enjoy into Nigeria. The position set up a reciprocity question the executive will now have to answer: if Chinese airlines continue to fly into Lagos and Abuja while Nigerian airlines cannot fly into China, the benefits of the bilateral agreement flow overwhelmingly one way. Frequently Asked Questions Did the Senate approve reviving Nigeria Air? No. The Senate rejected the proposal and described the project's contracts as a waste of time. What did the Senate say about a national carrier? It resolved that Nigeria needs one and asked the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development to explore establishing a new carrier. What is the Senate asking for on China flights? Enforcement and renegotiation of the Bilateral Air Services Agreement so Nigerian airlines can fly directly to China. Sources: Premium Times (Abdulqudus Ogundapo), Channels Television, Leadership Newspapers. More business news: https://www.bhginfodesks.com/search/label/Business