NCAA suspends Air Nigeria over alleged financial distress

The Federal Government, on Thursday, wielded the big stick by suspending the operations of Air Nigeria, over allegations that the airline is in financial distress.

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) carried out the suspension, after investigations carried out showed that the carrier was in financial crisis.

The development came even as the airline management, through its spokesman, Sam Ogbo-goro, confirmed the suspension of the airline and apologised for all the inconvenience that the order would bring on passengers, while promising that the airline would liaise with relevant agencies to ensure the suspension order was lifted soon.

The Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), on Tuesday, quizzed the Managing Director of the airline, Mr Kinfe Kahs-saye, for allegedly failing to pay company taxes amounting to N4.7 billion.

Chairman of the airline, Mr Jimoh Ibrahim, in a text message, said Air Nigeria was not indebted to the government on current taxes since the acquisition of the airline, saying that the debt was incurred during the time of Sir Richard Branson.

Culled from Tribune