FG Bans Boeing 737 Max 8 Plane

The Federal government(FG) of Nigeria has joined Australia, South Africa and the United Kingdom in banning Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 aircraft from entering Nigeria.
Minister of State for Aviation Hadi Sirika who Briefed State House correspondents, after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) in Abuja said the decision to ban the aircraft followed the fatal crash of an Ethiopian Boeing 737 Max 8, on Sunday that killed 157 passengers on board, including some Nigerians.
Though the minister said there are no aviation operators in Nigeria that currently operate the fleet, he however said that the plane will not be allowed to fly over the nation’s airspace or land in any of the nation’s airports
“Regarding Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9, that has been in the news recently, there is no cause for alarm as there is no operator in Nigeria that is using that type of airplane. The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, whose mandate it is to issue advisory, has already issued advisory that nobody should fly into Nigeria or out of Nigeria using Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9, pending the determination of the actual cause of the crash in Ethiopia and also pending the outcome of the response of the manufacturer, which is Messers Boeing”, he said
Sirika said in spite of adequate safety records of plane “it has caused concern in the world of aviation and you know aviation is universal, whatever affects one affects the other because aircraft will be flying in and out. So, we have issued directive that no operator with Boeing 737 Max 8 or Max 9 should operate into and outside our airports and this is being carried out”.
Speaking on the Air Peace and Arik orders of the Max planes, the minister said “whether those orders were confirmed or intent, it is to our knowledge in the ministry that they won’t be in the country until the next two years or so. And this is enough period to sort out whatever problem it is with that plane”.
“The world of aviation will not be sleeping just as we in Nigeria will not be sleeping. And it is normal standard practice that once a particular aircraft type is involved in accident back to back, it is withdrawn from the market and see if there is something they are doing wrong. And if it is confirmed that a particular problem say for instance, landing gear, they will issue an instruction to ground such plane worldwide until the problem is fix,” he further said.