₦airaland Forum

Indigenous debt-ridden airline, Arik Air, has refused to speak on the move by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria to use its aviation assets especially planes to launch a multibillion naira airline.

The PUNCH had exclusively reported that the new international airline planned by AMCON, to be named Nigeria Eagle, may take to the sky with at least 10 planes as early as June, according to insiders.

It was also learnt that AMCON, a Federal Government-owned bad debt manager which owns controlling stakes in both Arik and Aero Contractors, chose to establish the new airline as a clever means of wriggling out of the multibillion naira liabilities currently hanging on the two carriers.

The debts are believed to be hindering new buyers from showing interest in the two carriers which AMCON has been willing to sell to new investors.

Arik Air is said to owe up to N300bn in debt, one which experts have said it is impossible to defray quickly even if the airline pays N10bn yearly.

AMCON was established by the Federal Government in 2010 to buy over bad debts from commercial banks in order to save the banking system from imminent collapse. This followed the 2009 financial industry crisis in the country.

Arik Air’s Public Relations and Communications Manager, Banji Ola, however, refused to speak on the matter but directed our correspondent to speak with AMCON.

When asked on Sunday whether the airline was aware of the development, the spokesman said, “Ask AMCON. AMCON is the one floating the carrier. Once you get its reaction, you don’t need to get anything from me.”

Meanwhile, AMCON is expected to make an official statement on the deal very soon.

But experts have opined that the new airline would be greeted with lots of litigations as the original owners of the fleets would kick against the development.

Arik Air, which was founded in 2002 by its Chairman, Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide, grew its fleet size to over 22 planes and was travelling to over 16 destinations before it was taken over by AMCON in February 2017. The airline has also sacked hundreds of workers in the last few months.

President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will spend N3.4 billion on feeding and travel expenses.

While Mr Buhari approved about N2.6 billion of the amount for his office, about N873 million was earmarked for Mr Osinbajo’s office.

As in the last five years, travel expenses will take the largest chunk of these expenses, details of the approved budget for the year reviewed by PREMIUM TIMES show.

The same amount was approved for the offices of the first two citizens of the country in 2020. Both offices received less but still significantly high allocations in the four preceding years.

Travels and feeding gulped N1.5 billion in 2019; N1.52 billion in 2018; in 2017, N1.45 billion; and N1.43 billion in 2016.

Presidential travels will gulp N2.4 billion: N775.6 million for local trips and N1.7 billion for international journeys.

On the other hand, Mr Osinbajo will spend N801 million on his travels for the year – N284 million locally and N517.1 million outside the shores of the country.

Meanwhile, the meal bill for the offices of President Buhari and Vice President Osinbajo has been pegged at N195.5 million.

The first family will spend N124 million.

This is the same amount that was approved for the president in each of the last three years. In 2017, N115 million was spent on feeding, while in 2016 N103 million was spent for the same purpose, analysis of the budget for the last five years shows.


Of the N124 million approved for this year, foodstuff and catering materials supplies will gulp N98.3 million, while refreshment and meals will take N25.7 million.

The second family also retained what it spent on feeding in each of the last three years – N71.5 million – this year.

This is decrease from the N88.9 million spent in 2018, but an increase from the meal bills in 2017, N53.7 million, and N24 million in 2016.

Foodstuff and catering materials supplies will account for N50.9 million; refreshment and meals, N18.3 million; and cooking gas and fuel, N2.4 million.

Taich:
Fake news.

Jihadists aligned with the Islamic State militant group have captured a military base in northeast Nigeria’s Borno state after overnight clashes with troops, sources told AFP on Saturday.

Machine-gun wielding fighters from Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) attacked the base in the town of Marte in the Lake Chad area overnight Friday into Saturday, two sources said.

“The priority now is to reclaim the base from the terrorists and an operation is underway,” one of the sources said.

“We took a hit from ISWAP terrorists. They raided the base in Marte after a fierce battle.”

The second source said the army “incurred losses” but it was not yet clear how many people had died or the level of destruction inflicted by the insurgents.

ISWAP, which split from Boko Haram in 2016, maintains camps on islands in Lake Chad — where Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad meet — and the area is known to be group’s bastion.

Last week, the jihadists attacked the Marte base but were repelled, prompting them to mobilise more fighters for the overnight raid, said the sources.

The raid was seen as a “fightback” after recent losses — troops recently overran ISWAP’s second largest camp in Talala village, said the sources.

In November last year, officials began the phased return of residents to Marte six years after they were pushed out by the jihadists.

The town, 130 kilometres (80 miles) from the regional capital Maiduguri, was once considered the breadbasket of the Lake Chad region.

At least 36,000 people have been killed in the jihadist conflict since 2009 and violence has spread into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military coalition.