Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel has approved a NGN14 billion naira (USD30.5 million) capital into equity conversion for state carrier Ibom Air (QI, Uyo) to be used for fleet and network expansion, according to a resolution taken at an Ibom State Executive Council (SEC) meeting at the weekend.
On inquiry, Chief Operations Officer George Uriesi confirmed it was not a new investment. "It’s already invested capital to be converted to equity. It’s part of the monies used for the pre-delivery payments for our aircraft order. So it’s not a new investment."
Uriesi earlier this month told ch-aviation the airline plans to add seven African and two domestic routes to its network from April 2023. He said Ibom Air expects delivery of ten in-house A220-300s from October 2023 to 2026, with the first three units expected between October 2023 and October 2024 and the remaining every quarter.
Spokeswoman Anie Essienette told Leadership the airline aims to expand its network to seven West- and Central African countries, including Ghana, Gambia, Senegal, Liberia, Cote D’Ivoire, Cameroon, and Gabon.
Addressing the current cash crisis in Nigeria caused by a monetary change-over which has resulted in a shortage of certain bank notes, triggering riots in three Nigerian cities, Emmanuel said: “I am interfacing with the relevant authorities to explore means of easing the current economic woes on the people,” and called for peace and understanding from the citizens, even as he expressed optimism that the situation would improve soon.
According to the ch-aviation fleets module, Ibom Air currently has seven aircraft, including two A320-200s wet-leased from Lithuanian GetJet Airlines (GW, Vilnius) and five CRJ900LRs, of which it owns three. It currently serves six domestic destinations, including Abuja, Lagos, Calabar, Enugu, Port Harcourt Awolowo, and Uyo, according to the ch-aviation schedules module.
