The Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, has revealed how the airline lost $2 million to a Tunisia-based leasing company, choosing not to take legal action in order to protect Nigeria’s image in the global aviation sector.

Speaking at the 29th annual conference of the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents in Lagos on Thursday, Onyema explained that the foreign company had requested the funds for aircraft parts but disappeared after receiving payment.

According to him, at the time, Nigeria was unofficially blacklisted for contract breaches by some local airlines, and pursuing the matter could have worsened the industry’s reputation.

He said: “A foreign company defrauded us of $2 million. They told us they wanted to buy aircraft parts and needed a sum of $2 million.

“If I had stopped them from taking the money, Nigeria would have been further blacklisted. What you would be hearing is that Nigerian airlines are unreliable.

“For the sake of the aviation industry, I decided not to stop this transaction. The company took our money and never came back. They stole our $2 million."

Air Peace boss seeks better funding for airlines

Onyema also lamented the high cost and difficulty of securing funding in Nigeria, citing interest rates of up to 35% and stringent collateral demands.

He said:

“In Nigeria, funding is very expensive with a 35 per cent interest rate, and it’s not even available to everybody. People are also asked to bring collateral that is almost impossible to get. We need the banks, but the conditions being imposed are very far from being helpful."

He urged the government to create a foreign exchange window for airlines through the Central Bank of Nigeria or the Bank of Industry, similar to policies in Egypt and other countries.

While commending the current administration for stabilising exchange rates, he stressed that airlines still operate at a disadvantage without such targeted support.