Mr Sirika had in June accused the former chairman of the House Committee on Aviation, of demanding five per cent shares of the national carrier from him.
The House of Representatives has launched a fresh investigation into the status of Nigeria Air, a national carrier, conceived by the last administration.
The House, sequel to a motion moved by Tarkighir Dickson (APC, Benue) on Thursday, asked its relevant committees on aviation to probe the proposed carrier.
Nigeria Air
Nigeria Air was unveiled at the Farnborough Air Show in England on 18 July, 2018.
The project was suspended two months after it was announced as critics raised concerns over its relevance and sustainability.
The proposed airline was expected to gulp $8.8 million in preliminary cost and $300 million as take-off cost.
The idea of Nigeria Air was raised many years after Nigeria's defunct carrier, Nigeria Airways, collapsed due to corruption and poor management.
Hadi Sirika, the former minister of aviation, later announced an arrangement between the Nigerian government and Ethiopian Air to finance the national carrier.According to Mr Sirika, Ethiopian Air was to own 49 of the airline, a consortium of local investors was to own 46 per cent and the Nigerian government was to retain five per cent.
The arrangement was fiercely opposed by local airline operators, who challenged the government in court, and committees of the National Assembly.
Despite the opposition, Mr Sirika and Ethiopia Air "unveiled" the airline despite not obtaining the needed approvals from regulatory authorities.
Mr Sirika's action generated outrage among Nigerians.
Bribery allegation against 9th House panel
Sirika had in June accused the former Chairman of the House Committee on Aviation, Nnolim Nnaji (PDP, Enugu), of demanding five per cent shares of the national carrier from him.
"He (Honourable Nnaji) asked me that I should give him five per cent of Nigeria Air to carry him along with his people.
"I said to him at that time, Honourable, a bidding process has taken place, and some people won. So, I think you should go to those people and ask for the five per cent," Mr Sirika said.
The former minister's comments came less than a week after Mr Nnolim's committee alleged fraud in the unveiling of Nigeria Air and demanded the prosecution of Mr Sirika and all those associated with the "controversial" unveiling of the airline.
The current Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, also recently condemned the process of the establishment of the airline.
Mr Keyamo, in September, announced that all ongoing plans for Nigeria's national carrier ( Nigeria Air) operations had been temporarily suspended.
He served as minister of state for labour and employment at the time Mr Sirika was serving as aviation minister under former President Muhammadu Buhari
The motion
Moving the motion, Mr Dickson claimed that the past administration spent billions on the unveiling of the national carrier without any result.
He said the House must investigate the expenditure to avoid future occurrences.
"The last administration spent billions of naira ostensibly to acquire the said new national carrier but the status of the project remains unclear regardless of billions of taxpayers' funds utilised on the project.
"If the negative trend is not investigated, it may lead to issues with accountability and continue to be a recurring expenditure item in the federal budget," Mr Dickson said.
Following the presentation of the motion, the House resolved as follows;
- To urge the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and Ministries of Budget, National Planning and Finance to furnish the House with data and financial resources on the national air carrier project;
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- To mandate the committees on Aviation and the committee on aviation technology to invite the minister of aviation to brief them about the National Carrier Project;
- Mandate the committees to invite Mr Sirika to brief it on the status of the project at the point he handed it over and provide insights on a wide range of controversies and allegations surrounding the project;
- Mandate the committees to invite the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and eight local airlines to give the House a full overview of the project; and
- Mandate the committees to carry out a forensic audit of the process of Nigeria Air and report back within four weeks for further legislative action.
The motion was adopted unanimously when the Deputy Speaker, Ben Kalu, put it to vote.
