President Muhammadu Buhari has said the establishment of a national carrier for the country, Nigeria Air, is at 91 per cent completion, saying it is expected to commence flight operations before the end of this year.

Buhari said this at the 3rd Ministerial Performance Review Retreat on Monday in Abuja.

According to him, the feat is being boosted with the certification of Lagos and Abuja International Airports by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, while Kano and Port Harcourt Airports are undergoing similar certification processes.

The Nigeria Air gulps N14.6 billion, under five per cent government’s equity share.

On the economy, the President restated that the country had witnessed seven consecutive quarters of growth, after negative growth rates recorded in the 2nd and 3rd Quarters of 2020.

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“The GDP grew by 3.54% (year-on-year) in real terms in the 2nd Quarter of 2022. This growth rate represents a sustained positive economic performance, especially for the Non-Oil GDP which fell by 4.77 per cent in Q2 2022 against Oil GDP that grew by -11.77 per cent.

“Most sectors of the economy recorded positive growth which reflects the effective implementation of the economic sustainability measures introduced by this Administration,” President Buhari said.

On the Communications and Digital Economy Sector, the President noted that giant strides had been made “through broadband coverage which currently stands at 44.32 per cent  reinforced by 77.52 per cent 4G coverage with the establishment of 36,751 4G base stations nationwide.”

Buhari said the power sector had remained a critical priority for the administration, adding that the implementation of a ‘Willing Buyer-Willing Seller’ policy introduced by the Federal Government has opened up opportunities for increased delivery of electricity to underserved homes and industries.