Former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has dismissed claims that the Nigeria Air project under ex-President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration was a scam, insisting the initiative was conceived with genuine intentions and due process.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Tuesday, Sirika maintained that the project followed regulatory guidelines under a public-private partnership arrangement.

“It is a public-private partnership which was regulated by the Infrastructure Concessioning Regulatory Commission that gave certificates and participated actively in the process,” he said.

The former minister rejected reports that N100 billion was misappropriated, stating that the approved budget for the project was N5 billion, out of which N3 billion was released.

“It is a lie that I spent N100 billion and it is lost in the process. The total budget for the national carrier was N5bn, the total amount released was N3bn, and I left the ministry with over N1bn,” he clarified.

Nigeria Air was unveiled shortly before the Buhari administration exited office in 2023.

Since leaving office, Sirika has been facing trial over alleged corruption and abuse of office. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) accused him of awarding multi-billion-naira contracts to companies linked to his family, including his daughter, Fatima Sirika, and son-in-law, Jalal Hammaby. One of the allegations involved splitting a N2.7 billion aviation contract to bypass approvals and awarding it to family-controlled firms. His daughter and son-in-law’s company, Al Buraq Global Investment Limited, allegedly received N1.3 billion for an unexecuted contract.

When asked if his visit to the Presidential Villa on Tuesday was an attempt to secure leniency, Sirika dismissed the suggestion, noting that his case was before the court.

“Unfortunately, this matter is in the court of law and it is not a matter that should be subjected to the press. I am a very clean man. I have worked with people. The government has every instrument at their disposal to find my character,” he said.

According to him, his visit to the Villa was to condole with President Bola Tinubu over the death of former President Muhammadu Buhari and to reaffirm support for the ruling party.