No investor will put money in Arik now, says AMCON MD

Ahmed Kuru, managing director of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) says no investor will put money in Arik Air at this stage in its economic life.

Speaking on investors interest in Arik, Kuru said the problems in Arik are too many and must be first stabilised and solved before any investor can come in.

“We are aware about some of the interest being shown by international investors as regards to Arik as announced by the honourabke minister of finance, some of them directed to us,” he said.

“But you know we are in stabilisation mode now, and we would reach a point where we would be able to prepare the investment pack, so that we can then do the road show.

“At this stage, no investor will put money in Arik because the problems that are in Arik are too many; with the creditors, with the staff, will drive away any investor. So, unless we  are able to solve all those major problems, then we would be able to start talking to investors.”

Kuru further explained that AMCON decided to interven in Arik because of its strategic importance in Nigeria’s aviation industry.

He said the airline was at a time responsible for about half of Nigeria’s national air travels.

The AMCON MD added that there are no plans on ground yet to get Arik back to international airspace, adding that Nigerians have viable alternative in that regard.

AMCON took over Arik in February 2017, amid a debt crisis which ran into billions of naira, internationally and back home. The bad debt bank has since improved the operations of the airline, but cancelled flights outside west Africa.