Buhari Meets Ethiopian Airlines Board Over Take-Off Of Nigeria Air

While in Ethiopia for the 36th Africa Union summit, President Muhammadu Buhari met with the owners of Ethiopian Airlines to discuss the take-off of Nigeria’s new national airline.

Those who were at the meeting with Buhari in Addis Abeba over the weekend, include the board chairman of Ethiopian Airlines, Girma Wake, the group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, Mesfin Tasswe, and the group vice president for strategic planning and alliances, Daniel Abebe.

According to a statement from Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, the President stressed that the Nigerian government’s decision to re-launch a national carrier was a “weighty decision.”

During the meeting with Buhari, Girma Wake requested that the legal issue blocking Ethiopian Airlines’ 49 percent-owned Nigeria Air from commencing operations be addressed.

He also demanded the repatriation of airline funds that had been kept in the country because of problems with foreign exchange.

However, Wake asserted that the airline has been treated well in Nigeria ever since it started operating in the country 60 years ago.

He said that daily flight services from Addis Abeba to Lagos and Abuja-Addis Abeba are being added as part of plans to expand operations in Nigeria.

He asserted that the airline and its partners will be ready to begin operations under the name Nigeria Air as soon as all legal matters are resolved.

“Nigeria is not just a market but a hub for aviation in Africa. Nigeria is a special country and nobody travels more around the globe than Nigerians,” he added.