The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has announced plans to liquidate and sell Arik Air once all pending legal cases involving the airline are resolved.
Speaking during a media briefing in Lagos, AMCON spokesman Jude Nwauzor revealed that Arik Air owes the corporation ₦227.6 billion, while additional debts from its founder, Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide's companies, including Rockson Engineering (₦163.5 billion) and Ojemai Farms (₦14 billion), bring the total owed to ₦455.1 billion as of December 2024.
AMCON emphasized that proceeding with liquidation before resolving legal issues would be considered sub judice.
“The task of debt recovery has been arduous and challenging. While several thousands of Nigerians and Nigerian companies have honored their obligations, AMCON continues to face resistance from several debtors who are unwilling to pay without a fight. One of these debtors is Arik Air Limited (in Receivership), an airline company owned by Sir Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide, who is also the promoter of Rockson Nigeria Limited (a power infrastructure company), Ojemai Farms Limited, and Ojemai Investment Limited.
“These companies’ debts were transferred by various banks to AMCON due to their non-performance, with a total indebtedness of N455, 171, 764, 772.80 billion as at December 31, 2024. Arik owes AMCON N227,637,469,394.34 billion; Rockson Engineering N163,502, 837, 397.75 billion and Ojemai Farms N14, 031, 457, 980.71 billion,” he said.