By Lateef Adegbite
While Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos state, and the incoming Nigerian President, appears to be intense under pressure to query Godwin Emefiele, Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, over the failed new naira redesign project, Hadi irika, minister of Aviation and Space, at the instance of President Muhammadu Buhari, had hurriedly taken delivery of the first Nigeria Air, aircraft at a brief ceremony at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International airport , Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, on Friday, May 26, 2023.
The outgoing Nigerian President was said to have given the minister the nod to take delivery of the Nigeria Air, plane, to show that the project was conceived and executed by the Administration instead of giving the credit to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos and the President- elect on the platform of the ruling All Progresive Congrss, APC, who was said to have been given the Lagos-Ibadan Express Way to Commission on June 30, 2023 since it could not be Commissioned by the Administartion due to the delay of work by the Contractors.
The outgoing minister who had repeatedly said that 30 aircrafts are expected to form the fleet of the new national carrier in the next five years, had said that it will commence, what industry stakeholders had described as’’ abracadabra operation’’ when the second aircraft arrives the country but failed to give the exact date for the arrival of damp leased plane to the country.
He said had that ‘’an application has been made to the Civil Aviation Authority, CAA, for a grant of an Air Transport License for Nigeria Air Limited to operate scheduled and Non-scheduled passenger and cargo services within the airports across the country’’.
The Katsina state born Politician, had reported that the new national carrier would be ‘’private -sector driven with the Nigerian government holding only a 5% stake in the project and the private investors would hold the remaining 95% shares.
He may have alluded to the fact that the Ethiopian Airline which would take over control and management of the Nigeria Air will hold 49% state on the new national carrier that will take over the 81 routes of the defunct Nigerian Airways that covers local, regional and international routes. This may have informed why the outgoing minster of Aviation and Space had said that ‘’the airline would be sustained’’.
Given that the Ethiopian airline, which is the preferred bidder of the Nigerian Air, are really out for business is evident going by the statement by Lemma Gudeta, the airline Chief Financial Officer, CFO, who has that ‘’it is targeting an investment base of about $1 billion for the Nigeria Air’’.
Given the track record of the Ethiopian airline, Gedeta, the CFO, was said to have assured Nigerians that the airline Authorities will replicate what it has done in Ethiopia inNigeria : efficiency in service delivery’’ when the Nigeria Air Commences operation.
Many believe that there was no basis for the outgoing President Buhari to be in a hurry to see that the Nigeria Air commence operations on May 29, 2023, since it could not meet the March deadline until all the necessary technical structures are put in place.
Sirika, the outgoing minister, who could not hide his feelings about the coming of the Nigerian Air and the arrival of the one plane, out of three expected from the Ethiopian Airline had said that, ‘’it has been a very long, tedious, daunting and difficult path ‘’, to scale through hurdle as the Local airline operators were said to have done everything within their powers through the Court process to sabotage the project has gulped overN7.45 billion, over the last three years.
In spite of the celebrations in political circles that the assumption of office on May 29, 2023,of the former governor of Lagos state as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that things would get better, Kashim Shettima, a former governor of Borno state and the Vice President-elect, has warned that’’ it is not going to be a rosy start’’.
Shettima , the Vice President-elect may have come to the conclusion that it is not going to be a rosy start for the Administration because of the oil subsidy removal programme of the Katsina state born Nigerian President which is expected to be implemented by the incoming Administration at the end of June, 2023. Hear him: it has become an albatross around our necks.
The former Borno state governor who could not hide his feelings further stated that ‘’the multiple exchange rates system that had been implemented by the outgoing Buhari’s Administration over the last eight years which was a drain on the national economy has created a ‘’dual economic system’’, that may take time to solve..
He has made it clear to those cares to listen that ‘’there are certain decisions that the new Administration will take, which may sound harsh initially but on the long run , Nigerians would come ‘’to appreciate it and to celebrate with the new government.
Shettima, has made clear that ‘’the incoming Administration does not have the luxury of time as the challenges facing the nation are humogous’. He had said that ‘’Nigerians are all united by a common heritage of poverty, destitution and insecurity’’, noting that ‘’this is time to coalesce into a single Force’’ to solve the problems.
Although, the robust contributions of the likes of Olabode George , a retired Air Commodore and Chieftain of the Opposition People Democratic Party, PDP, for the development of the country in this trying times may be missing as he may likely relocate to the neighbouring west African country of Ghana, as Tinubu assumes office but Senator Adeyemi Smart, has called on the incoming Nigerian President ‘’to question Emefiele, the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and those involved in the naira redesign project’’, that has become a failure.
The Kogoi state born Politician may have alluded to the outgoing Nigerian President who had said that he authorized the CBN,’’ to redesign the new naira notes in order to have firm control over the money in circulation.
The outgoing President had justified the designing of the new naira Notes by stating that in 2015, during his first term in office the currency in circulation nationwide was only 1.4 trillion but rose to N3.23 trillion in October, 2022. He noted that ‘’ only N500 billion was within the banking system while N2.7 trillion remained permanently outside the system, which was distorting the country’s Financial system and efficient management of inflation’’.
Notwithstanding the reasons given for the redesigning of the new naira Notes by former President Buhari, Senator Adeyemi was said to have asked Tinubu the President-elect,, to invite Emefiele, and others involved in the naira redesign project ‘’to come and explain what happened and what was the reason behind the redesigning of the N200, N500 and N1000, Notes that has become a failed project.
He averred that ‘’anarchy was setting in during the shortage of the redesigned naira Notes in different parts of the country as people do not have access to their money’’. He may have seen the naira redesign project as a fraud as the CBN, Governor could not fulfil his promise that in two weeks of the introduction of the new Notes at that time , there would be enough new naira redesign Notes that would be in circulation. He noted that since after the Supreme Court Judgment, uptil now, on the usage of the old Notes till the end of December, 2023, ‘’the so-called redesigned naira Notes are off circulation’’.
