Nigeria’s Minister of State for Aviation Senator, Senator Hadi Sirika, has said that Nigeria has no Boeing 737 Max aircraft in its aviation register.
The minister made the statement today, Tuesday, against the backdrop of the unfortunate crash of the Ethiopian airline, Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, on Sunday, which killed the 157 people on board.
So far, no fewer than 12 countries have banned the aircraft from their fleets after witnessing th crash, twice in less than six months interval, on the similar planes belonging to the same Ethiopian airlines.
Senator Hadi Sirika acknowledged that any accident anywhere is a tragedy to the global aviation industry, stressing the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has issued the necessary advisory as it relates to the country.
“As we continue to mourn the ET crash in Addis, and pray for the victims, we wish to reassure Nigerians that we do not have any Boeing 737 Max on Nigeria’s register to worry about.”
The minister asked the Nigerian flying public not to entertain any fears, assuring them “of unflinching commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration to creating an environment that guarantees their safety and security in air transportation.”
Two Nigerians, an academic and popular columnist, Pius Adesanmi, and a retired ambassador on contract with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Abiodun Bashua, were among the 149 passengers on board the plane.
The Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft crashed about six minutes after take-off from the airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, en route the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. Recall that vanguard reported that at least nationals of about 35 countries were involved in the disaster.
