Aero sacks MD, CFO over alleged ownership crisis

The last may not have been heard of the crisis rocking Aero Contractors, Nigeria’s oldest carrier, as it has fired its managing director, Hugh Fraser and chief financial officer, Tunde Pampam, following alleged battle of interest between legacy owners, the Ibrus, and the government owned Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).

A source confirmed to BusinessDay that the duo were sacked last week, adding that “management could no longer condone what was happening”.

Aero is believed to be indebted to AMCON to the tune of over N20 billion before the asset company took over its management from the Ibrus.

According to a news wire, there were allegations of Hugh “often taking some decisions against the wishes of AMCON who’s overseeing the running of the airline at the moment”, adding that “he was also frustrated by the alleged inaction of AMCON and the confusion associated with the board, apart from allegations of questionable decisions and allegiance”.

Hugh, who was appointed by AMCON nearly two years ago, sources claimed, also went on leave without the board’s approval, which the source said might have also infuriated the management.

“Apart from these allegations, I am not in the know of what may have also contributed to it, but there is crisis”, a source said.

BusinessDay also gathered that Tunde Pampam, an AMCON appointed personnel who was very strict in maintaining financial discipline in the airline’s finances, was also relieved of his appointment without prior notice.

“It is not clear what offence he may have committed that led to his sack but I think that came as a shock because nobody really heard of any infraction”, the source noted.

Aero is one of Nigeria’s legacy private carriers with solid foundation until the financial crisis of the late 2000s swept it off, leading to AMCONs take over.

Although AMCON is currently managing the airline, there are fears that its problems are far from over, especially due to unstable management, among others.

In 2012, AMCON took responsibility for the N32 billion debt the airline had accumulated in many banks as non performing loans.

The airline’s former chief financial officer, Omoke Enyi, had in 2012 announced the takeover, saying: “We can confirm that Aero’s debt has been taken over by AMCON. Currently, Aero is going through a restructuring exercise under AMCON, pending final approval by AMCON board which is expected very soon. However, the airline is allowed limited access to funds by the banks through AMCON for its working capital.”