President Muhammadu Buhari swore in Hadi Sirika as substantive Minister of Aviation on 21 August 2019, elevating him from the Minister of State role he had held since November 2015 as part of a 43-member cabinet inaugurated nearly three months after Buhari's second-term swearing-in. The ceremony took place at the State House in Abuja, with aviation sector unions turning out to welcome Sirika's promotion.
From Deputy to Substantive Minister
Sirika, a former commercial pilot and senator for Katsina North, had spent his first term as junior minister under Rotimi Amaechi, who oversaw the merged Ministry of Transportation and Aviation. His elevation to a standalone aviation portfolio gave him direct control of the sector's roadmap, including the stalled Nigeria Air national carrier project, airport concessions, and plans for a domestic maintenance, repair and overhaul industry.
Speaking after the swearing-in, Sirika said he aimed to lift aviation's contribution to gross domestic product to one percent within a year and insisted the suspended Nigeria Air project remained on course despite its indefinite suspension the previous September. He told reporters the ministry would stay committed to the roadmap drawn up with sector stakeholders, adjusting it where necessary but not abandoning it.