Onyema, who referred to the Nigeria Air project as "moribund" and noted that it was initiated by the previous Aviation Minister, Sen. Hadi Sirika, stated that the country ought to invest in a flag bearer airline rather than a national carrier.

On Wednesday, he disclosed this information while appearing on the morning show that airs on Arise Television. During the show, he was criticizing the shareholding structure of the airline, alleging that it favors Ethiopia.

He maintained that the financial investment for the airline was being provided by Nigeria, while Ethiopia was set to reap 49% of the company despite not actually committing any money to it.
Despite concerns from local airline operators, the Federal Government went ahead and took delivery of the first plane for Nigeria Air, the country's national carrier, despite a court order that prohibited the government from taking any further action on the project. The court order was in place at the time that the delivery was made.
The leader of Air Peace also disclosed that Ethiopian Airlines had approached his company in 2019 about forming a relationship, but he turned down the offer because of his strong sense of loyalty to Nigeria.

He pointed out that according to the deal that was signed for the interest in Nigeria Air, Ethiopians were not anticipated to provide any money as an investment into the project. This was stated in the agreement.

In addition to this, he asserted that Ethiopians were going to be in charge of the entire management of the projected Nigeria Air airline, including the roles of DFO, CEO, and all management posts, while Nigeria was going to be in charge of the deputy position.

Onyema emphasized that the unveiling of Nigeria Air despite the litigation was a complete disregard of the judiciary that could not be accepted. He stated that this should not be the case.

When asked about the deal that had been reached between Nigeria Air and Ethiopian Airlines, he stated, "The leadership of the entire management—DFO, CEO, and all of the management positions—was to be headed by Ethiopians, while the deputy slots were given to Nigeria."Take a look at the shareholdings: ET has 49%, and there is a firm that goes by the name Fairfax. Who is this Fairfax? It is held by ET; their transaction advisers are going to gain 3%, 1.4/1.5% of the shareholder capital, which is estimated to be $250 million, and ET will bring $122 million, although not as cash but as rentals.

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"Only Nigerian companies like SAHCO and MRS are going to bring in any money," the speaker said. The document is right here in front of me. ET is not putting a single cent into Nigeria, but rather they are paying the plane's rental fees for the next five years. It is clear as day to read what is written here.

Even if they pay the 122 million dollars, Air Peace is still worth over 2 billion dollars on its own. While we are having this conversation, Boeing is currently in my office to deliver our 737 Max, which will set us back more than one billion dollars.

In addition, he stated, "The aircraft from Embraer that we started receiving cost approximately one billion dollars; five of them have entered Nigeria; ET is bringing nothing, and they are going to get 49% of your country's wealth." I am making a plea to the President of Nigeria, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, to put an end to this farce that is called Nigeria Air and begin his own enterprise.

In his explanation of why Nigeria Air ought to be discontinued, Onyema stated, "Contrary to what the minister has been saying about Nigeria and the importance of having a national carrier, the national carrier is a moribund idea worldwide." Onyema was clarifying why Nigeria Air ought to be discontinued.
"Nation-states no longer travel in that direction since doing so is detrimental to their economy. Those who are now participating are trying their best to get out. When we talk about "national carriers," we mean airlines that are owned by the government. These days, governments serve as flag carriers for their countries.

IAG is the parent company of British Airways, which operates as the country's flag carrier. Only a very small number of countries, including South Africa, still operate their own national airlines, and South African Airways is draining the national treasure of the country. They have made numerous attempts to close it, but the unions always put up resistance; the government is getting worn out.

"Countries don't follow that path, so why should Nigeria in 2023 be heading backwards rather than forwards? All that needed to be done was to make it easier to conduct business so that wealthy individuals and private businesses might participate in the aviation industry.

He continued by saying, "We are not fighting for ourselves, nor are we afraid of the competition. Furthermore, nobody is afraid of this national carrier because it will fall and fail like a pack of cards." What we are saying at AON is that they should increase the ease of doing business in Nigeria, remove the barriers that are inhibiting the growth of airlines in Nigeria, and then these airlines will flourish, but they have not done so.

In response to a question on whether or not Air Peace is interested in forming a partnership with Nigeria Air, he stated the following: "When they wanted to do the national carrier, we offered our comments and we knew the whole thing was cloaked in secrecy, our members told Air Peace to apply and when you go to that website, you would be barred. We never succeeded in getting anywhere. We did try."