Industry stakeholders have explained that foreign financial institutions and international aircraft lessors have been reluctant to invest in Nigeria’s aviation sector for over a decade due to governance concerns, unresolved disputes, and weak investor protection.
They warned that if these issues are not properly addressed, the efforts of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, to attract foreign investors into the industry may not succeed.
Speaking with journalists in Lagos earlier in the week, aviation analyst Lanre Bamgbose said the matter should be viewed from a wider commercial and institutional angle, rather than blaming any particular organisation. He noted that investors are more concerned about how commercial transactions are governed and protected in the country.
He pointed to the lingering legal disputes between Arik Air shareholders and the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria as one of the issues that has created negative impressions within the global aviation finance community.
According to Bamgbose, major financial institutions such as the European Credit Agency, the United States Exim Bank, Export Development Canada, and the Pacific Export Finance Corporation are fully aware of the sector’s challenges and policy environment, and will naturally be cautious before committing funds.
He said, “As a businessman, if I were to invest in your market, for instance, I want to look at the governance structure of commercial transactions in the country. Let us go back to history, and for due process reasons, I do not want to comment particularly about the company that I worked for in the past. What happens when things go wrong? How are contracts enforced? How are disputes resolved?
“However, I am yet to find any significant investment by anybody in the leasing world, particularly the core European side and the Americas, in Nigeria since 2010.
“At least, I am privy to particular transactions with the European Credit Agency and the US Exim Bank, Export Development Canada, and the Pacific Export Finance Corporation.”
Also reacting, a former engineer with the defunct national carrier, Nigeria Airways, Mr Charles Amokwu, said the decline in interest from global financiers and aircraft lessors has slowed aviation growth in the sub-region. He highlighted challenges such as poor fleet renewal, limited aircraft acquisition capacity, and inadequate airport and related infrastructure as consequences of the situation.
Amokwu explained that without access to competitive long-term financing, operators are forced to depend on short-term and more expensive funding options. He noted that this reality affects ticket pricing, operational sustainability, and the overall stability of the sector.
He added that restoring investor confidence would require more than diplomatic visits and high-level meetings with aircraft manufacturers like Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier, and others, as recently undertaken by Mr Keyamo. According to him, accountability and proper management of past transactions are essential to rebuilding trust.
Like Bamgbose, Amokwu stressed the need for a thorough review of past contractual disputes, stronger aviation leasing regulations, better judicial enforcement of commercial agreements, and respect for creditor rights.
“If you are asking international financiers to bring money back into your market, the first question they will ask is: what happened to the funds previously invested?
“A transparent clean-up of legacy issues, coupled with credible regulatory reforms, can gradually reposition Nigeria as a bankable aviation market,” he said.
