General News
Aviation Unions Blast AMCON Over “Dying” Aero Contractors
Aviation unions and workers of Aero at the weekend lampooned the present management instituted by the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON).
According to the Groups, the airline’s over 1000 staff strength is at the verge of losing their jobs over what they described as sheer incompetence and a lack of vision by the management.
The Unions led by Comrade Benjamin Okewu, the president of the Air transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria(ATSSSAN) and Comrade Olayinka Abioye, general secretary, National Union of Air Transport Employees(NUATE), and other union members, staged a peaceful protest about the manner the airline is being managed, thereby declaring the board members and management persona non grata.
They accused the management of allegedly conniving with the board and mismanaging the oldest airline in Nigeria
Speaking to journalists, Benjamin Okewu, ATSSSAN President, stated that the work force of the airline is over 1,000, adding that if the workers allows the mismanagement currently going on in the airline to continue, the over 1,000 workers in the airline would be affected .
According to a report by Nigeria Flight Deck, Okewu pointed out that if that happens, the multiplier effect would be great because of their dependants, adding that as it is today, the unions are not ready to cooperate with management of Aero on this matter.
The ATSSSAN President said that efforts to partner aviation entities in the past to resolve workers’ issues have failed, adding that from records what the companies understand is industrial action.
He said that the new structure of Aero, which has been prepared should be signed and implemented failing which the management should resign, adding that some of the funny things that cannot happen in the public sector are happening at Aero.
Okewu posited that board members brought into the airline were not helping matters, as they were allegedly busy collecting money and not bothered about the sustenance and survival of the airline.
The ATSSSAN President alleged that the management was conniving with the board of the airline to mismanage the airline.
“AMCON is not concerned about the survival of Aero, if AMCON is concerned about the survival of Aero, it should give us professionals that are good and have pedigree in airline management.” He said
On his part, the General Secretary of NUATE, Comrade Olayinka Abioye, stated that the management of the airline had been taking the unions for granted and that while the management and the board were allegedly benefiting from the airline, the workers who are critical stakeholders in Aero were not taken care of.
Aero workers, he stated, had suffered too much, adding that instead of workers lives to improve, it had continue to nosedive.
Olayinka said time has come for the workers to rise to the current challenge, warning that if they fail to act, the airline may collapse.
He said that before Aero is run aground the workers must act to tell the management that enough is enough, adding that the level of impunity at the top is high.
“It is time to tell the management that enough is enough.”he said
He called on the management, board to implement the new structure or face the wrath of Aero Angry workers.
Also speaking ,Comrade Emakpo Ayo—Ife, vhairman of ATSSSAN, Aero, stated that what the workers were asking for is a review of the structure that put in place eight years ago, which according to him the airline’s management has power to carry out.
He said, “What we have been asking for is that the company has an existing structure that has not been updated in the last eight years. Ordinarily, it is something that the management has the power to do but unfortunately for us, we have a board that came to hijack all the decision making rights of the management and they have been hiding under this to loot the company.
“They told us they don’t have money but we have been seeing some frivolous contracts made in the system. Before the last managing director was made to go, there was an issue of about N450million that was taken out of the system in the name of consultancy fee for the company lawyer.”
He continued, “AMCON invested about N10billion in this company throughout the period that they have been here.
On the number of airplanes the embattled airline has at the moment, he said, “When they came in, we had 11 aircraft and now we are down to five aircraft and they came in 2011.
He alleged that AMCON paid a $9million to a company in Brazil, which according to him the airline has not retrieved but that nobody is talking about all that.
In his words, “All we are asking for is a prudent management and workers welfare. We want AMCON to dissolve the board.”
Contacted, the Media Consultant, Mr Simon Tumba to the airline said that he has not been briefed on the issue
Over 800 workers marched in and around the premises of the airline at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, singing solidarity songs and calling for the immediate implementation of a new structure, better management failing which the board must resign, reported Nigerian Flight Deck.
Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, plans to dedicate one-third of his wealth to charity as part of his succession plan, Halima Dangote, his daughter, has revealed.
Aliko Dangote
Halima, a trustee of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, disclosed this in an interview with Bloomberg published on Tuesday, saying the billionaire had secured the support of his family to commit 33 per cent of his estate to philanthropy.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Dangote’s net worth is estimated at $35.1 billion, meaning one-third of his current wealth would be worth about $11.7 billion if his fortune remains at that level.
Halima explained that her father views philanthropy as a key part of his legacy and has incorporated it into the family’s long-term succession plans.
She said Dangote had structured his estate to ensure that charitable giving continues across generations, particularly in areas such as healthcare and education.
“He sort of put all the structure in place whereby we focus a lot on health and education. He actually donated 25 per cent to the foundation. If you look at it, it is what we call in Sharia Code in Islam; it means he has donated 33 per cent of his whole inheritance to his foundation,” she said.
Halima added that Dangote believes giving back is central to the success of his businesses and the family’s values.
She said the billionaire asked her, her two sisters, and his mother to sign the agreement allowing 33 per cent of his inheritance to be dedicated to humanitarian causes.
The planned donation builds on Dangote’s longstanding philanthropic activities through the Aliko Dangote Foundation, which was established in 1994.
According to Halima, the foundation received an endowment of $1.25 billion about a decade ago and has since received an additional $700 million in funding.
She said about 70 per cent of the foundation’s spending goes to programmes in Nigeria, while 20 per cent supports projects across Africa, with the remaining funds directed to initiatives in other parts of the world.
The foundation’s interventions focus on healthcare, education, nutrition, and humanitarian support, including partnerships that contributed to the eradication of wild poliovirus in Africa.
Dangote’s planned charitable commitment adds to increasing global attention on billionaire philanthropy.
Although the proposed 33 per cent allocation is below the 50 per cent commitment associated with the Giving Pledge, it would rank among the largest philanthropic commitments announced by an African billionaire.
Earlier this year, Dangote was named among the world’s most influential philanthropists by TIME magazine’s inaugural TIME100 Philanthropy list, recognising the impact of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, which reportedly spends more than ₦50 billion annually on programmes across Africa.
Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC), has said that there are plans for Nigeria to begin to generate electricity from nuclear sources.
Mr Anthony Godwin Ekedegwa, chief executive, NAEC stated this when he recently visited Mr Umar Yusuf Girei, acting managing director, National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA),in Abuja.
He was at NIWA’s office to solicit the support of NIWA in achieving the numerous advantages of using nuclear energy technology in the country.
According to him, the partnership of critical stakeholders in Nigeria will position the country well in developing and maintaining its nuclear power plant.
The NAEC chief said Nigeria intends to begin the generation of electricity from nuclear sources instead of fossil-based power plants and hydro-based power plants, stressing that for Nigeria to develop, there is a need for the country to diversify its energy needs.
In his remarks, Mr Girei assured NAEC of his agency’s readiness to collaborate on the advancement of a nuclear power plant in Nigeria.
He promised the full support of NAEC for the success of a nuclear power plant in the country, saying that as the organisation saddled with the responsibility of regulating and developing Nigeria Inland Waterways, his entity is strategically positioned to play a critical role in the federal government’s quest for sustainable energy through the new technology.
In a powerful call for continental solidarity, Ralph Mupita, Group CEO of MTN, has asserted that the future of the African continent depends on the dismantling of xenophobic barriers.
Speaking at the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation (KMF) Winter Seminar, Mupita framed migration as a fundamental characteristic of the African identity, urging South Africa and other nations to embrace integration over exclusion.
He emphasised that the survival of African enterprises depends on a borderless approach to trade and talent. “The digital economy we’re fast moving to knows no borders.” Mupita declared, noting that the mindset of exclusion is an outdated relic that hinders the continent’s ability to compete globally.
He argued that for Africa to leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the psychological barriers of xenophobia must be eradicated.
Providing a stark financial justification for this stance, Mupita highlighted MTN’s own operational reality as a blueprint for Pan-African success. “We earn about 80 to 82% of our earnings from outside South Africa,” he revealed, illustrating that the prosperity of South African-born entities is inextricably linked to their success across the rest of the continent. This figure underscores the interdependence of African economies and the danger of isolationist policies.
Mupita’s stance was strong advocating for unity: “The future of Africa will not be determined by the borders that separate us, but by the economic opportunities that connect us. Governments must set predictable policy and regulations.
Businesses will follow and allocate resources and capital. Together, we can build a continent where opportunity is more evenly shared and prosperity is more widely created.”
Analysts observing the seminar noted that Mupita’s remarks come at a critical juncture where economic volatility often fuels nationalist rhetoric. By tying the fight against xenophobia to the balance sheet, MTN is positioning Pan-Africanism beyond the moral imperative to its function as a business necessity. The CEO stressed that “Migration is part of who we are,” suggesting that the movement of people is the primary engine for the movement of capital and innovation.
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