Jimoh Ibrahim, Please Save Air Nigeria

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I am sending this to let you know of the recent developments in Air Nigeria.The company started as Virgin Nigeria Airways in the year 2005. The company started well, but over the years, it got into a number of problems, primarily from finances, which threatened its existence. The primary shareholder pulled back and the company was forced to look for another majority shareholder. This came in the form of the Nicon group of companies, with the Chairman, Jimoh Ibrahim. The problems it faced were self inflicted,with a lot of financial mismanagement by the agents sent from the primary shareholder to manage the company.

With the entrance of Nicon, the Chairman, Jimoh Ibrahim spoke to the staff and promised that he would inject funds into the company, to ensure its survival, and also take care of the debts incurred by the previous management. This he did and the company was revived and more equipment, used in the core business of the airline (Aeroplanes) were made available. The company turned around due to the cash injection, which was the only thing it really needed to get back into business.

The company was built on a solid foundation and had knowledgeable professionals running things.All it had missing was the finances, and also the load of the debt it was carrying. It could run on its own. Jimoh Ibrahim paid up the debt, and things started looking positive, as more aircraft became available. As of now, the airline is doing very well in terms of revenue. It has good passenger loads on its flights.

As of late last year, some new developments started to creep in. Unpaid bills started to accumulate in various areas (operational and otherwise), despite the fact that the company was having a very good revenue. It has been on the increase. The present situation is such that availability of aviation fuel, which is needed for the aircraft to operate and be able to generate revenue has been a problem. The company is owing money in many areas including the supply of aviation fuel. This is starting to affect the company’s operation. Is this not like shooting oneself in the foot, when there is money available, and we are avoiding the payment of bills for the supply of what we need to operate and generate revenue, thus creating more problems?

In the aviation industry, fuel is a major part of the expenses and it is given priority. Because of the large amount of fuel used by an aircraft, the airlines usually have a contract with the supply company where they agree on an amount per litre of fuel. An aircraft can use about 3,000 Litres per flight hour, and you can imagine if it flies 8 hours a day, how much fuel it will consume. They the pay the fuel bills at agreed intervals. The other option is not to have a contract with a supplier and then pay as you are supplied with fuel. This results in a very much more expensive price of fuel per litre. What is happening now is that, because of the amount being owed unnecessarily, the oil companies have terminated their contracts with the company, and have resorted to fuelling the aircraft on a cash and carry basis.

This is affecting the operation and is the main reason for the delays which they experience, and what happens, the passengers are inconvenienced. These things happening are beyond the staff as it is due to decisions from the top. Where all the money is going, nobody can say. Although the company now belongs to the man, its core operation should not be destabilised as it will affect the revenue eventually.

The state of things now is that there have been cases of their aircraft being detained at some airports outside Nigeria due to unpaid bills, and also cases of their flight crew being refused accommodation at hotels, or in another case where they were prevented from leaving due to unpaid bills, until the bills were settled. Can you imagine the unnecessary disgrace? An airline carrying the name Nigeria, a flag carrier for that matter, while you have other small airlines operating unhindered by such problems These are just some of the areas in question.

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I must emphasise that this is not meant to bring down Air Nigeria or anybody, but it is in the hope that when the truth is made known to the public, it may put pressure on the Chairman, Mr Ibrahim to do the right thing and to get him to listen to the professionals when things in their areas are concerned. This is a U-Turn from what he told the staff, and what he had made the public to believe when he came on board. He said that he would not interfere in the operational aspects of the company but give the professionals a free hand. It is not in anybody’s interest that the airline should turn into a typical “one man business”.

This company has a wealth of dedicated staff, who mean well. Right now, I don’t think you do have any airline with the kind of staff Air Nigeria has. You will remember that not long ago there was no Nigerian Airline operating flights out of the country. We all do not want to return to those times. We all want Nigeria to take its proper place in the world.

This is why I call on you, as the media, to let the public know what is really happening in Air Nigeria so the tide will change, rather than all those publications being sold to the public about events, for image laundering purposes. I am doing this as a concerned person in the Nigerian Aviation industry.

 

•Anonymous

 

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