CHIEF Operating Officer of Tropical Arctic Logistics Limited, Engr. Femi Adeniji has decried that the United States has invested US$2.5 billion dollars to do a feasibility study of a Maintenance Repair Overhaul (MRO) facility in Ghana stressing that the system operated in Nigeria puts off potential investments
He attributed the lack of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the country to the innate corruption in the system stressing that the existing aviation policies and attitudes of aviation authorities towards organisations and individuals that indicate interest in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has not been encouraging. READ ALSO: FAAN moves forward from SITA impasse, takes delivery of RESA equipment
The TAL boss made this known while speaking at the 25th Annual Conference of the League of Airport & Aviation Correspondents (LAAC), held at Sheraton Hotels, Ikeja, Lagos with the theme, Nigeria’s Aviation Industry: Management, Policy & Regulation
Adeniji cited instances of such discouraging incidents from people trying to invest in building airports and are shut down through charges to investments from companies outside.
He said,†It’s unfortunate that the powers that be, the Senate, the House, they’ve all left because they need to hear this and give us an answer: why are we doing things backwards? The system is completely corrupt. I would give you an example, I have two friends who wanted to invest, Americans who want to invest in this country, build their own private airport accessible to the state, the answer I got from FAAN and NCAA is that one of them should go and bring N35 million, in the United States all those things are waived if you are spending your money but in this country its all hog.” READ MORE: LAAC 25th Conference: Remove expiry dates from AOCs, investors tell NCAA
“The chairman can attest to this, I have a very strong relationship with Boeing Aerospace they are now in Ghana and I am talking of four months ago. They were trying to come in here and they said: ‘Femi sorry, we cannot contribute when we are trying to create employment, they are making life difficult for us’.This is what we get from Accra, Ghana.
“The United States just gave Ghana 2.5 billion dollars to do a visibility study to set up an MRO that is supposed to be in Nigeria there in Ghana.
Adeniji decried that there are currently 15 Nigerians managing MROs and related businesses in the United States, but are not disposed to investing in Nigeria because of discouraging policies and feedbacks they get.
