Air Peace CEO Allen Onyema says the airline lost $2 million to a Tunisia-based leasing company.
He revealed the firm took payment for aircraft parts but never delivered or refunded the money.
The Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, has disclosed how the airline lost $2 million to a Tunisia-based aircraft leasing company.
Speaking on Thursday at the 29th annual conference of the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents in Lagos, Onyema said the incident occurred during a period when Nigerian carriers faced an unofficial blacklist over alleged contract breaches.
According to him, the foreign firm had requested $2 million for the purchase of aircraft parts but failed to deliver after receiving the funds.
“A foreign company defrauded us of $2 million. They told us they wanted to buy aircraft parts and needed the money. If I had stopped them, it would have reinforced the perception that Nigerian airlines are unreliable. For the sake of the industry, I allowed the transaction,” Onyema said.
He explained that the company never returned with the parts or the funds, despite intervention attempts by the Nigerian government. The firm reportedly dismissed it as a private business matter and disappeared.
Onyema said his choice to avoid legal action was influenced by the industry’s reputation at the time, noting that earlier breaches of aircraft lease agreements by some local carriers had contributed to the strained perception of Nigerian airlines.
