N15bn TSC/CSC debt can be resolved without external auditors – Ojikutu

Stories by Ime Akpan Lagos

Th e Chief Executive of Centurion Securities Group Capt. John Ojikutu has said that the dispute between the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) over N15 billion debts could be resolved without resorting to hiring external auditors.

Reacting to the recent statement by the AON secretariat calling for an independent auditing fi rm at its own expense to audit NCAA as an organisation and the N15 billion NCAA claims, Ojikutu said he agreed that the remittance of the ticket sales charge/cargo sales charge (TSC/CSC) cannot be fi xed by the proposed automation but argued that the amount cannot be based on aircraft in airlines’ fl eets as stated by the AON but passengers airlifted. Th e AON had stated that airlines do not pay monthly fi xed rate.

“Th e rate is a percentage of the fare paid further. How can an airline like Arik Air with 27 airplanes have a fi xed monthly remittance rate of N61, 477,779.69 and Air Peace with an average of fi ve airplanes to pay N109, 862,633.84 monthly?

AON had queried. Ojikutu however advised AON not to spend money it does not have. “I don’t think there should be too much dispute in recovering the airlines debts on the TSC. While I would agree that the TSC monthly remittances cannot be fi xed if the collection is by automation, it can also not be based on the number of aircraft in the airline fl eet. In the absence of electronic automation it could be based on the average number of passengers airlifted per month. “ “For instance, if an airline is known to be carrying an average of 30,000 per month and each passenger pays agreed average fare of N15,000, in the absence of automation, that translate to ticket sale of N450 million per month. Th erefore, average TSC of 5 per cent expected from such airline monthly cannot be less than N22.5 million.

Th is to me is transparent with common sense and does not need any external auditor who would take away the money the AON does not have now,” he said. Th e AON in its earlier statement off ered to pay for an independent auditing fi rm such as KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, or Deloitte and Touché, to audit NCAA as an organization, and the N15 billion NCAA claims airlines owe

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