Israel Umoh
The sacked Akwa Ibom All Progressives Congress governorship aspirant, Akan Udofia and Akwa Ibom government are locked in the controversy of Ibom Air ownership.
Udofia in a video that has gone viral claimed that “I brought Air Traffic Control to this state. It is public notice to everyone of you. The idea of Ibom Air was me.”
He vowed to allow Ibom Airline commence international flight in three years, if elected a state governor in 2023 general elections.
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The Ibom Air launched its maiden flight on June 7, 2019.
There have been speculations over the ownership and founding of Ibom Air since its inception as there were no budgetary provisions for the take-off of the airline.
Akwa Ibom govt disowns Udofia
However, Akwa Ibom government has dispelled the statement that Udofia has no stake in the Ibom Airline.
A press release signed by Uko Essien Udom, SAN, the Akwa Ibom Attorney-General and Commissioner For Justice on November 12, noted ‘‘It has been brought to the notice of the office of the Attorney General that one Akan Udofia claims in a short video, circulated on WhatsApp groups and social media platforms that the idea of setting up of Ibom Air was his.
‘‘The said Akan Udofia, we are told had in the past also claimed that some of the aircrafts in the fleet of Ibom Air belonged to him.
‘‘It is necessary to notify the general public and Akwa Ibom state citizens in particular that Mr Akan Udofia has no proprietary interest whatsoever in any of the aircrafts in the fleet of Ibom Air. All the aircrafts in the fleet were acquired directly by the airline.
‘‘The idea of Ibom Air was conceived and executed by His Excellency, Governor Udom Emmanuel who worked with aviation consultants led by Captain Mfon Udom to birth and sustain the operations of the airline to this day. The Airline is owned 100% by Akwa Ibom State.’’
‘‘Any claim contrary to the above is false and fraudulent and this office will not hesitate to file appropriate sanctions against the perpetrators,’’ the statement reads.
Ibom Air dismisses the ownership saga
A statement signed by the management of Ibom Airlines Limited says: “We are constrained to state the facts lest the general public be misled by the purveyor of such patent falsehood.
“We wish to state emphatically and unequivocally that IBOM AIR was founded upon the direct vision and creative thoughts of His Excellency, Governor Udom Emmanuel who had approved the Business Plan for execution in 2016.
“Upon his approval of the Business Plan, it took about two years of painstaking and thorough work by a team of first class aviation industry professionals to put the start-up requirements together and almost another year of careful preparation, before the airline commenced operations on 7 June, 2019.”
”The airline dismissed statements circulating in the public space about the airline having been the vision of parties that are completely unrelated to the airline’s founding.
”Ibom Air recalled that even though there were some loud naysayers at the beginning, the impressive success of the airline has continued to convert those naysayers.
”The continued that the airline is pleased that all Akwa Ibomites have now taken jealous ownership of it, to the extent that even some who had nothing to do with its founding and who, we may add, have no known aviation bonafides, are now claiming that it was their idea.
“Indeed IBOM AIR is happy to be owned by all Akwa Ibomites and all Nigerians too. The general public is hereby advised to dismiss and discountenance such falsehood as peddled by the individual,” the statement said.
