Tuesday, May 11, 2010


CECILIA IBRU FINGERED
IN AERO CONTRACTORS’
70MILLION DOLLARS GROWING DEBT
*AS TROUBLED AIRLINE FACES LIQUIDATION
Sacked bank chief, Cecilia Ibru has been fingered as the catalyst of the growing debts crippling the operations of popular airline, Aero Contractors.
The Airline which is presently struggling hard to meet it’s obligations is said to be in great debt to financial institution, Oceanic Bank Plc.
The debt folio is said to be in the region of seventy million dollars and growing by the day.
Taken in the form of loan to be repaid over a specified period of time and stipulated rates, the fund was meant to enhance the services of the Airline.
It has been discovered that the gargantuan debt could have been done away if prudency had been employed by the facilitators of the business arrangements between Oceanic Bank and Aero Contractor.
The deal which placed the Airline in this economic tight corner was said to have been put together by former bank Managing Director, Cecilia Ibru, while she was the head person of Oceanic Bank and also doubled as the Chairman of Aero Contractors.
The Ibrus own substantial portion of both businesses- but recent findings revealed that Cecilila Ibru might acted more out of personal than corporate gains in setting up the business.
This discovery was unearthed by Central Bank of Nigeria's investigations into the books of Oceanic bank as part of moves to turn around the precarious economic situation the leadership of Cecilia Ibru placed the bank before she was booted out, along with her board of directors.
Among new discoveries that indicted Cecilia Ibru in the deal that is threatening to cripple the operations of Aero Contractors is the purchase of five units of boeing 737- 500 series aircraft at the alleged inflated cost of 12.5million dollars each. Further investigations revealed that similar purchase could be made for $7million in the open market.
Oceanic Bank under Cecilia Ibru had gone ahead to lease the acquisition to Aero Contractor at monthly rate of 280,000 dollars per month.
Oceanic Capital, another subsidiary of Oceanic Bank served as the go between in the deal experts claimed is obtainable in the United States of America- or Europe for just $80,000 per month..
Aero Contractor is said to be finding it hard to be meet the terms of payment of the deal based on it current level of patronage.
Further investigations revealed that in other to protect i;st survival- and safe guard the job security of the about one thousand two hundred staffers on it pay role and the handful of foreigners helping to pilot the ship of it success, informers explained that the management of Aero Contractors have started balking over the terms of agreement in the loan- they are said to have started making spirited moves to renegotiate a more favourable terms.
The management of Oceanic bank are said to be passionately kicking against the move.
According to a source 'they need all the cash to turn around the bank- and if Aero Contractor get away with it, there will be an unavoidable shortfall in their expected income, so for them the move by Aero is a no no'
Industry news has it that should the Airline fail to wriggle out of the strangling loan arrangement with Oceanic Bank- against the background of it other debt commitment- it should be considered liquidated except of course reprieve come from an unexpected angle

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