The management of Arik Air under the leadership of Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide, its founder, owed about N387 billion both locally and internationally, before the federal government took over.
According to a fresh deposition before the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, it was revealed that the airline was deducting contributory pension from its workers earnings but was not remitting the same to the pension authorities.
A demand letter from the National Pension Commission showed that the airline had an outstanding pension remittance of N4.587 billion.
The airline had debts across the west coast, in the United States, and United Kingdom, which the federal government considers as de-marketing Nigeria’s business reputation abroad.
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Below is a breakdown of Arik’s debt, as filed before the federal high court:
| S/N | Debt Description | Agency/Company Owed | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Airline Insurance | Name of insurance companies withheld | N418,893,067.97 |
| 2. | Staff Pension | National Pension Commission | N4,586,860,471.50 |
| 3. | Airline Maintenance | Lufthansa Technik Group | €31,000,000 |
| 4. | Bank Loan | Zenith Bank | N28,346,678,438 |
| 5. | Bank Loan | Access Bank | N9,447,673,924 |
| 6. | Service Provision | Amadeus Marketing Nigeria | N632,490,151.60 |
| 7. | Accomodation | Marriot and Best Western Hotels | N3,800,000 |
| 8. | Fraudulent Loan | Name of Bank withheld | N2,000,000 |
| 9. | Services and Use of Facilities | Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) | N11,215,279,204.19 |
| 10. | Financial advisory services | Pan African Capital Limited | N337,500,000 |
| 11. | Judgement debt and interest (Suit: FHC/ABJ/CS/234/08) | Nigerian Aviation Handling Company PLC. | N339,996,233.11 |
| 12. | Aviation Insurance Cover | Name withheld | N203,895,020.37 |
| 13. | Tax Consulting | Babington Ashaye & Co | N60,750,000 |
| 14. | Ticket Sales | Wakanow | N40,156,144.68 |
| 15. | Refund for unused tickets | Passengers | N22,275,450 |
| 16. | Telephone and Internet services | 21st Century Technologies Limited | N19,082,852.30 |
| 17. | Tax Liability | Kwara state Internal Revenue Service | N1,474,530 |
| 18. | Judgement Sum | Akpan Anthony | N1,474,530 |
| 19. | Lease of aircraft and one spare engine | Export Development Canada | $53,422,583.17 |
| 20. | Debt | Sky Enterprises LLC | $30,000,000 |
| 21. | Judgement sum | Arthur Eze and Atlas Petroleum Ltd. | $2,500,000 |
| 22. | Loan | Ike, Ike & Associates | $2,500,000 |
| 23. | FAAN Services | FAAN | $942,147.02 |
| 24. | Services | Airline Rotables Ltd. | $479,036.92 |
| 25. | Lease of PW 4168A-ID Engine | Pratt & Whitney Engine Leasing LLC | $140,610.21 |
| 26. | Fuel | World Fuel Services | $26,556.37 |
| 27. | Foreign Debt (West Africa) | Aviation Authorities in the West Coast | $6,500,000 |
| 28. | Foreign Debt (US) | US Customs | $987,170 |
| 29. | Foreign Debt (US) | US Internal Revenue Services | $311,888 |
| 30. | Foreign Debt (UK) | Heathrow and Her Majesty Revenue | N100,359,000 |
| 31. | Foreign Debt (UK) | UK Customs | N121,425,097.05 |
Based on the debts owed, the US IRS has declared a worldwide lien on all of Arik’s assets, which “makes the airline susceptible to arrest in any jurisdiction worldwide”.
According to Gbolahan Odutayo, the assistant vice president II (AVPII) and team lead, transport and aviation unit at Arik, the new receiver manager has spent N1.5 billion within February 8 and April 12, 2017, to keep the airline alive.
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Odutayo said the US has also threatened to call upon the bond issued by Arik to the United States Customs for its operations in the US.
The federal government of Nigeria, through the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) says it would make its final decision about Arik, very soon.
