A former Minister of Aviation, Isa Yuguda, has revealed how the founder of famous Airline, Richard Branson was chased out of Nigeria, leading to the withdrawal of Virgin Group from a deal with the country in 2009.
Yuguda spoke about this and more on Channels Television on Friday. This prompted the airline to be renamed Nigerian Eagle Airlines and later Air Nigeria.
“You want to join the league and we had the opportunity but, unfortunately, we blew it because, soon after I left office, another minister came and another one came, then another one came,” Yuguda said.
“And he decided that it’s not a good transaction for him. So he decided to advise the government that they should drive Richard Branson away from Nigeria,’’ the former Minister added.
“It was just a pity. Richard Branson was on CNN, saying, ‘Nigeria is the worst place you can do business.’ He’s advising no international community member to come and invest in Nigeria.
“Even the mere fact that Richard Branson was investing in Nigeria – he has Virgin Australia, Virgin America, Virgin India, and so many others, which are very successful airlines.”
He said Nigeria might need between $200-$300 million to be able to set up an airline that it can call its own.
It would be recalled that minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika held a Nigeria Air unveiling event in Abuja on May 26 – a project that has since come under scrutiny following revelation that the only aircraft showcased at the ceremony was in fact a rented flight.