₦airaland Forum

Under the new arrangement, the backlog of seven months staff salary owed by the old outgoing management will be paid by the new management while all debts being owed by the old management will also be paid by the new owner.

In a show of renewed confidence and shift in strategy, a group of local and foreign investors are committing multi-million dollars into setting up a new airline which analysts say will change the face of the nation’s aviation industry.

The new airline, known as ‘First Nation Airways’ is being put together by American, and Nigerian institutional and individual investors that also include Skye Bank.

A source close to the deal told BusinessDay that the new investment shows the level of confidence foreign investors have in the country and the aviation sector.

The source attributed the new confidence to the regulatory capacity of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the huge passenger traffic on both Nigeria’s domestic and international routes.

“This is a huge market that no serious investor will toy with. Moreover, the new airline does not have the huge debt portfolio which is weighing down the old airlines from performing very well. A well capitalised airline as we see in ‘First Nation,’ which is also not bug down by family interference as in the old airlines will go places and investors will get profit for their investment in no time,” an industry source said in Abuja.

An aviation analyst at the weekend observed that the ownership structure of the new airline defies the practice where airlines in the country were run as family business.

Since the days of Okada Air and Kabo Air established in the 80s till now, most airlines in the country are owned as family businesses. Virgin Nigeria Airlines at inception and Dana Airlines were the only Nigerian airlines with equity not linked to single families.

Gbenga Odukoya, chairman of First Nation Airways confirmed to BusinessDay that the new airline ownership structure is a clean break from the past.

Odukoya who declined to disclose the names of the investors and their individual equity holding, merely disclosed that some American investors have come to “play big” in the aviation sector.

Interestingly, several reports conducted by various interest groups have pointed that the way forward for the industry is for airlines not to run as family businesses.

“The bane of the industry has been that the airlines were run as family businesses,” an industry source analysed.

http://www.businessdayonline.com/NG/index.php/news/76-hot-topic/20925-nigerian-american-investors-commit-multi-million-dollar-to-form-new-airline

enomakos:
THERE WAS NO OUTSTANDING PLAYER IN THE TEAM

elctroguru: there's a white man amongst Nigeria technical crew,
 Who is He?

Pharoh: Hurray Nigeria has won the cup oooo 3-2  

davywillis: Goodluck follow these boy o!

Yeap! Goodluck follow the team true true and it's the perfect re-election celebration gift for him

marutimon: who scored the goals?

Kayode Olanrewaju, Uche Nwofor and Terry Envoh

@match
End of 1st half Extra time and Nigeria leads 3-2

Just 15 more minutes Flying Eagles. . .hold on please, I know you can do it