Business
Aviation Unions Shut Down Arik Operations
Labour unions in the aviation sector yesterday shut down Arik Air operations, vowing to continue the action until the airline agreed to implement the agreement reached by the two parties in December.
The unions involved in the action are: National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE).
The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) had, on Feb. 9, taken over the airline.
The takeover was as a result of the airline’s huge indebtedness to the company and other creditors, both local and foreign.
AMCON had, thereafter, appointed Capt. Roy Ilegbodu, as manager of the airline, under the receivership of Mr Oluseye Opasanya,(SAN).
NUATE’s General Secretary, Mr Olayinka Abioye, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that all the airline’s operations in the country would remain disrupted as long as it takes, for Arik’s several breaches.
“You will recall that late last year, there was an industrial action against Arik, and the Federal Government intervened through the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
“Certain agreements were extracted from the NCAA meeting, and we were hoping that the management of Arik would be responsible enough to implement those agreements.
“But unfortunately, as we speak, none of the agreements has been implemented.
“One of the agreements is the payment of staff salaries; but as we speak, Arik is indebted to their workers more than seven months salaries.
“The airline is also indebted in several taxes for several months, and pension contributions for years..
“To worsen it, our agencies such as NAMA, NCAA, NIMET, FAAN and other service providers, are being owed huge sums of money.
“This is also impacting negatively on the capability of those agencies, and which in turn affect the staff welfare in those places who we represent as unions,” he said.
Abioye said these were issues that had brought the unions to the door of the airline.
According to him, Arik cannot be under a receivership and refuse to dialogue with the people the former management is indebted to.
He said the unions had taken over the airline’s operations and would do so until it was ready to pay its debt.
Abioye said the airline would not have access to the local and international terminals and the ticket counters at the airports.
“We all know that FAAN operates the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) where Arik operates from, and we have just taken over the place.
“We are going to continue with this picketing as long as the airline, under this present management, is ready to implement our agreement.
“This morning, the unions have addressed intending passengers that came to the airport to catch up their flight, and they have understanding with us.
“We have apologised to the concerned passengers for the inconvenience the airline has put them through.
“We are hoping that they will also be magnanimous to look for other airlines to fly,” he said.
Similarly, ATSSSAN’s General Secretary, Mr Micheal Agamah, urged AMCON to replace the current receivership manager before any meaningful dialogue with the airline’s management could take place.
“With his intolerance to unionism which he has displayed so far, if we allow him to still stay in office, who will implement the resolution of the dialogue we had with the previous management?
“Apart from fighting for the interest of the workers, we are ready to protect the right of workers, which the Constitution, under Section 40, guarantees — freedom of association,” he said.
Reacting to the development, Arik Air, in a statement signed by its media consultant, Mr Simon Tumba, said the picketing was illegal because its motive was unclear to the management.
“It is a well-known fact that Arik is under Receivership, following various challenges experienced over the last few years.
“These include delays and cancellations of flights, delays in payment of salaries and huge debts to trade creditors and suppliers, bad corporate governance and a host of others.’’
He said that since AMCON took over the airline, salaries were being paid, including backlogs and on time performance had improved from 15 per cent to average of 80 per cent.
Tumba said fuel suppliers that had hitherto quit doing business with Arik were happily doing business with the airline.
“For the record, the management had engaged with its staff, and is convinced that there is no reason to picket our airline, which is facing challenging times.
“The focus of the Arik Air management is to stabilise the operations of the airline and enhance its ability to play a positive role in Nigeria’s aviation industry.
“Therefore, the management of the airline advises the unions to steer clear from undermining the operations of Arik Air.
“Management would take every legal measure at its disposal, to stop any illegal interference with its operations,” he said.
The National Economic Council has expanded the mandate of its Ad-hoc Committee on Crude Oil Theft Prevention and Control to cover illegal mining.
This is just as the council raised the alarm that the nation’s solid minerals, including gold, are being mined and stolen.
Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, who chairs the committee, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents after the 153rd NEC meeting chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday.
Uzodimma said the expanded mandate is part of the government’s efforts to curb resource theft and increase revenue from Nigeria’s solid minerals sector.
“The National Economic Council Ad-hoc Committee on Crude Oil Theft Prevention and Control, which I chair, presented an interim report today to the Council.
“NEC received our report with satisfaction and expanded our Terms of Reference to now also take interest in solid minerals, because our solid minerals are being mined and stolen and not adding to national revenue,” said Uzodma.
He noted that the expanded role would enable the committee to coordinate with the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development and other federal and subnational institutions to combat widespread illegal gold mining and other forms of mineral smuggling that have deprived the country of much-needed foreign exchange.
“Going forward, our committee, working with other government agencies, will look at how to ensure that the revenue of the country arising from solid minerals like gold and other forms of solid minerals are not allowed to be stolen,” the governor added.
NEC’s Ad-hoc Committee on Crude Oil Theft Prevention and Control was first established under former President Muhammadu Buhari in August 2022.
It was reconstituted under President Bola Tinubu in December 2023 with Uzodinma as chairman.
The committee was initially mandated to address the challenge of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism.
Its creation followed rising oil theft that had crippled national production and forced international oil companies to shut down key pipelines.
At the time, oil production had crashed to around 700,000–800,000 barrels per day, far below Nigeria’s OPEC quota, costing the government billions of dollars in lost export revenue.
Uzodimma explained that through what he called a “collaborative approach” involving regulators, operators, and the security forces, the committee had helped raise daily crude oil production to over 1.7 million barrels per day in the past 22 months.
The governor stated, “Before May 29, 2023, when President Bola Tinubu was sworn in, our crude oil production was around 700,000 to 800,000 barrels a day.
“Working with stakeholders, the regulators, operators in the industry, and the Navy, we were able to involve all the governors of crude oil-producing states and raise different security organisations.
“You would agree with me that as I speak, daily production is now in excess of 1.7 million barrels a day, and cases of pipeline vandalism and vandalisation of oil assets have also been on the decline.”
The council, he said, was satisfied with the progress and decided to deploy the same model of intergovernmental coordination, private-sector partnership, and multi-agency surveillance to the mining sector, plagued by resource theft.
“We are determined to ensure that crude oil production and gas are properly preserved for the benefit of our citizens.
“Now, with this new directive, we will also protect our gold and solid mineral assets,” Uzodinma added.
Nigeria’s illegal mining economy, particularly in gold, lithium, and other high-value minerals, has grown into a multibillion-naira shadow industry.
According to data from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, the country loses an estimated $9bn annually to illegal mineral extraction and smuggling.
The Federal Government has linked several unlicensed mining operations to armed groups in the North-West and North-Central regions, where gold has become a source of illicit financing for bandits.
A 2023 NEITI audit also showed that over 80 per cent of mining activities in Nigeria were conducted informally, without licenses or environmental oversight.
In September 2024, the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development revoked over 900 dormant licences and announced plans for a national gold reserve policy. But enforcement remains difficult, with weak surveillance, limited manpower, and overlapping regulatory mandates.
According to Uzodimma, the expanded mandate aims to integrate the fight against illegal mining into the broader national resource protection framework previously used in the oil sector.
“We have done well,” he claimed, adding, “Among other things, we recommended that NNPC, working with security agencies and their consultants, should strengthen security in all the creeks and extend coverage to offshore regions. That will help in curtailing and supervising illegal entries and exits of vessels into our export terminals. This same spirit will now guide our solid minerals sector.”
The committee is expected to submit its first progress report on the expanded mandate at the next NEC meeting in November.
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