Managing Director of Interjet Nigeria Limited, which imports aircraft into the country, Seun Peters said government should put the right policies in place to grow the aviation sector and encourage the private sector to fund airport facilities and services.
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The aviation sector is facing crisis due to inadequate foreign exchange, scarcity of aviation fuel and poor infrastructure. What should the federal government do to improve the aviation industry?
The Minister of Aviation has unveiled a roadmap for the sector. What is required is the political will to see this through. It is also important to carry along all the critical stakeholders in the industry, by this I am conscious of the views and feelings of employees in various government agencies connected to the aviation industry. It is also important that we ensure transparency and best practices so that we can attract the much-needed private international investors.
On the face value, the plan to concession four major airports in Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt is a good idea. We should however be careful to avoid generating bad blood and unnecessary controversies. To be candid, we need injection of private funds to turn around the aviation sector. If we can attract foreign direct investment, this will have a ripple effect on standards and quality of service, job creation and inflow of foreign exchange for the economy.
The federal government has given airline operators forex concession. How do you think this would help the airlines?
That is also part of the enabling environment that government should create to encourage both indigenous and foreign investors. It is a sad story that foreign airlines are finding it difficult to operate in Nigeria with our large population and potentially viable market. There is no reason why Nigeria cannot be the sought-after-destination point in Africa such as Kenya, Ethiopia and South Africa. I think the gesture on forex is pragmatic and a necessary incentive to stabilise the industry.
With huge resources being spent by Nigerian airlines overseas for aircraft maintenance, do you think such facility could be established in Nigeria in the nearest future?
We have a viable economy, a large market and a vibrant workforce. Like I said earlier, all we require in the mix of right policies and the political will to see things through. If we had made a success of the assemble plants in Lagos and Kaduna, I am referring to Volkswagen and Peugeot plants, by now we should be aspiring to start same for aircraft. Countries such as Brazil, Pakistan and India are already building aircraft. I see no reason why Nigeria cannot maintain and assemble aircraft in this age of ICT and universal science engineering. Our company, in partnership with Diamond Aircraft of Austria, is already finalising plans to build a state-of-the-art maintenance facility in Abuja to service Nigeria and other West African countries.
There is no magic about that. We need the requisite investment, local or foreign or partnership, to provide the enabling environment in terms of equipment and other ancillary facilities to meet set standards. But in terms of viability, I think we should be a player and the preferred destination, at least in the sub-continent. With the experience of Interjet, we are confident that our proposed facility in Abuja will be viable and re-position us as a leading aviation sales and maintenance company in Africa.
How can the infrastructural deficit in the aviation industry be addressed?
Our facilities and infrastructure are sub-standard. We can do better. But we must locate this unenviable status in our inherent challenges.
For instance, how can we be aspiring to build world-class standards when we don’t have adequate power supply; when our water system is suspect and unreliable; when we mount ladders to disembark passengers from the aircraft and still issue tickets manually? These are not insurmountable challenges. If we have the will to change and reverse these bad habits, we can conquer them all. Like I said earlier, government is on the right path by seeking to concession the four major airports in the first instance.
Nigeria still employ experienced pilots from overseas what do you think it will take the Nigeria College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria to train students for commercial pilot license?
We have two aviation training institutes- one in Zaria and the other in Ilorin. Government has taken steps to upgrade the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria, to enable it train pilots for commercial flights. We have experienced instructors; what we need to do now is acquire the necessary modern equipment and facilities to train top class pilots.
Most concession agreements in the aviation industry are fraught with controversies, how can government be made to keep its own side of the bargain?
I’m aware that the Minister of Finance spoke recently on the need to reform the contract awarding process, to make it faster and more efficient, so that procurement can be done as soon as necessary documentation is concluded. Government should not only be spending money awarding contracts; it is important that jobs are executed on time and to specifications, so that Nigerians can have value for money spent on their behalf. In the case of Interjet, we are under pressure from our foreign technical partners, Diamond Aircraft Industry of Austria, to make good our contract agreement to supply training aircraft to NCAT. We have been on this for about two years and it is not giving this country a good image when we cannot abide with contractual terms.
How has unstable naira affected aircraft supply business in the country?
It is unfortunate that a few foreign airlines are finding it difficult to operate owing to scarcity of forex. Those of us in international business are also feeling the pinch. Like I said earlier, our contract with NCAT has been delayed partly owing to the unstable foreign exchange market. We sympathise with government and hope that the situation normalises very soon.
What are your views on proposed aviation university, considering the fact that Nigeria already has College of Aviation Technology in Zaria?
I don’t have much information on that, but I think that NCAT is well positioned to assume that role when government finally makes up its mind. I’m aware that the college has trained a lot of pilots from across Africa. It has the goodwill and experience to transform into a university of aviation.
Can you throw more light on what you do for NCAT and other aviation organisations in Nigeria, especially the training aircraft your company is facilitating its importation for the College?
We import aircraft through our partner, Diamond, an aircraft manufacturing company based in Vienna, Australia. NCAT ordered about 20 aircraft to be supplied in batches. The company had already produced the first batch of five aircraft but the school has yet to take delivery of the airplanes due to its failure to complete payment for the aircraft.
Interjet Nigeria Limited, through which the contract was sealed, has threatened to sue NCAT if it fails to take delivery of the airplane and conclude the contract.
The aircraft have not been delivered because NCAT was yet to meet the conditions of the agreement, although the aircraft had been manufactured and as they are yet to be put into use they have to continue to undergo maintenance 14 months after they have been produced.
However, the company said out of the five aircraft in the first batch manufactured solely for NCAT, four had been sold to another company, remaining one that could be delivered to NCAT it if meets its payment obligations.
What we want is the specific execution of the contract; pay us what we are due, which is over 85 per cent of the contract sum. We may be forced to take a legal action if the contract is not executed. The delivery was meant to be June 2015 but NCAT just went blank.
All the five trainer airplanes (three units of DA40 NG and two units of DA42-VI) had been produced, but the money which NCAT paid in naira when the exchange rate was about N180 to a dollar, could not meet the agreed sum of money in dollars when the local currency began to plummet in value.
We’ve been in business since 2010. Some say we’re not registered. Whoever doubts our status can check with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). We’ve supplied two aircraft and a simulator to the Nigerian Air Force. I am however hopeful that we shall amicably settle these issues with NCAT, taking cognizance of the current economic situation in Nigeria, many business deals, such as ours may have been affected. But we expect NCAT to show commitment to our agreement and fulfill its obligations to this agreement.
THISDAY
