The Senate on Monday rejected the plan by the Federal Government to give N5 bn bailout to the operators of the aviation sector following the losses they suffered as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic .
The Chairman , Senate Committee on Aviation , Senator Smart Adeyemi , had at the opening of a three- day public hearing on the six executive bills meant to reorganise the civil aviation agencies in the country , made a case for bailout for the sector .
But the Minister of Aviation , Senator Hadi Sirika, disclosed that the Federal Government would soon start the disbursement of the N 5 bn bailout it approved for the operators of the sector .
The minister said the airline operators would get N4 bn while other businesses in the aviation sector would be given N1 bn.
He said , “ The Federal Government has approved N4 bn as bailout for the airlines and N1 bn for other businesses within the civil aviation .
“ We are already putting arrangements for the disbursement in place and once we start , it would be transparently done . ”
However , the Senate Committee Chairman said the N4 bn would not be enough to keep the airline operators in business .
Adeyemi said the N 4 bn approved for the airline operators was too small , going by what was happening globally in the aviation sector.
He said , “ If we really want to keep the airline operators in business , and we don ’ t want them to close shops and go home , the Federal Government should shore up the amount.
He said , “ If we really want to keep the airline operators in business , and we don ’ t want them to close shops and go home , the Federal Government should shore up the amount.
