‘AMCON lacks good knowledge of Nigeria’s aviation history’

The Managing Director of Centurion Security, Group, Captain John Ojikutu (retired) has faulted an alleged plan by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to liquidate Arik Airline and sell it to Ethiopian Airlines.

Ojikutu premised his position on what he referred to as AMCON’s little or no knowledge about Nigeria’s aviation sector.

Going down the memory lane to back his opposition for the sale of Arik to Ethiopian Airlines, Ojikutu cited past cooperations Nigeria had with some foreign airlines which did not yield good fruits at the end.

“Those who are contemplating the sales or cooperation with Ethiopian Airlines should go into history of such cooperations in the past between Nigerian Airways and KLM or the Nigerian Airways and South African Airways in the 1990s and the one for establishing Virgin Nigeria between the Federal Government and Virgin Atlantic.

“In the event that the liquidation and sale of Arik to Ethiopian Airlines are true, what will be the statutes of the airline if Nigerians are not participants. Would Ethiopian Airlines and Asky still retain their multiple destinations to all the five Nigerian airlines if the airline is not designated as the national carrier or flag carrier?”

The aviation security expert though said he was not against the selling of Arik Air or Aero to technical investors, “but what I will like other Nigerians to fight against is not selling a reasonable percentage of the airlines’ assets to the public.

“We must find favourable answers to these questions or else AMCON and its advisers would blindly sell our birthrights out to a commercial competitor in the industry.

“Sure, AMCON has no good knowledge on how many things work in aviation, but must be getting some blind advice from some Nigerian interested parties.”