No Preferred Bidder Yet for Nigeria Air, Government Clarifies

By Derrick Bangura

Nigeria’s federal government said on Wednesday that it had yet to appoint a bidder for the proposed Nigeria Air, despite the fact that it had never selected or appointed any entity or individual as the preferred bidder for the project.

The government made this known to journalists in Abuja via the Ministry of Aviation in a statement.
The statement by the Director, Public Affairs, Ministry of Aviation, James Odaudu, read: “Our attention has been drawn to reports in some media to the effect that Qatar Airways has been chosen as the preferred bidder for Nigeria’s national carrier, Nigeria Air.

“The report, coming just two days after the issuance of a Request For Proposal which was published in local and international news media, is not only false but capable of discrediting the process for the establishment of the airline, and discouraging interested parties.

It further read: “We wish to state that throughout the process leading to the publication of the Request for Proposal, the guiding principle has been transparency and accountability which we promised will remain till the final delivery of the project, and by which we stand.

“We wish to state categorically that no corporate entity or individual has been appointed or selected, or even preferred for the project as the process for selection has just started with the Request for Proposal.

“All interested partners and the public are therefore advised to discountenance the report and proceed with their proposals as we assure them of our unalloyed commitment to transparency and accountability till the end of the process.”

“Our driving force is the commitment of the Buhari administration to bequeath to the country a national carrier that Nigerians would be proud of,” the statement continued, “and our determination and commitment to it remains stoic.”

“Finally, we would like to remind media professionals to always confirm information from reliable sources before going to press in order to avoid misleading the public.”