Aero Contractors has repaid the debt it owed the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) since 2017. Capt. Ado Sanusi, the Managing Director of Aero Contractors, confirmed this development in an interview with Daily Independent in Lagos over the weekend.
According to Sanusi, Aero Contractors had in 2017 and 2022, collected about N1 billion as loans from AMCON in multiple tranches, but said that its loans had been repaid to the corporation by the management of the airline.
Sanusi said that the total loans secured from AMCON were repaid in the first quarter of 2025, but clarified that the old debts of pre-2017 were still owed the corporation.
He explained that the loans secured from AMCON enabled the airline to invest in its Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities, return some of its aircraft to service, while the staff were also paid part of their outstanding payments.
Sanusi also said that he was reluctant to return to Aero Contractors for the second time in 2022 as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), having left the airline for another project in 2021.
He said: “I cannot remember exactly the figure, but I think it’s in the neighbourhood of half a billion naira or N300 million in 2017. We actually asked for about N3.5 billion and it was not given, but they gave us about N500 million. The money came in tranches and we used it to stabilise the business.
“We paid back the loan, we did the first C-check and had for the first time, four airplanes in our fleet flying, helicopters were flying. Everything was going in the right direction and recovery was on the horizon.
“The basis of me coming back, if you remember, was immediately after COVID-19 pandemic. I said there was money that the Federal Government approved for all airlines at a reduced interest rate of single digits. After COVID-19, I said, the only reason I can come back is if I can have access to that loan.
“And I remember the loan was, again, about N3.5 to N3.7 billion that we were asking for so that we can now turn the company around and pay the loan within 12 months or 24 months. We showed that we could pay the loan if we were given. So, they agreed in principle that they would give us the loan.
“So, AMCON eventually gave me another loan, which I think was a little above N500 million at the beginning. Of course, I started to work, and then we revived the first aircraft, revived the helicopter business, revived everything. Then, we started paying them. I am happy to say that we’ve paid back everything now.”
Sanusi, however, expressed that he was living behind a legacy that would continue to outlive him with the current position of the airline.
He maintained that he was not building an institution molded around him, rather an institution that could stand the test of time.
The Aero Contractors boss also hoped that its MRO facilities would become a maintenance hub in West and Central African countries.
“At this age, I’m not looking for any other thing, but to leave a legacy that the company can continue to thrive after I’ve gone, and can continue to employ Nigerians, can continue to employ young people to work in our MRO facilities, which is one of the best in West and Central African regions.
“I’m extremely happy to have revived our MRO. As it stands, we can do repairs of Boeing 737NGs and all the way to heavy checks. We just finished work on an aircraft from Senegal and another one from Ghana. My prayer is one of these times that this place will be a maintenance hub in West and Central Africa,” he added.
AMCON in 2012, took a 60 per cent stake in Aero Contractors due to the various debt of the airline to commercial banks, but by 2016, increased its stake in the airline to 100 per cent as a creditor.
SOURCE: independent.ng