The management of Nigeria domestic carrier, Azman Air has reiterated its commitment to fully cooperate with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) over the audit of its operations following the halt of its flights by the regulatory body citing safety reasons last week.
The airline’s Accountable Manager, Muhammad Hadi Abdulmunaf, noted that contrary to a spurious report making the rounds which purportedly claimed the airline attacked the Director General of the NCAA, Captain Musa Nuhu, affirming that such statement did not emanate from the management.
Abdulmunaf said it was not in the character of Azman Air to attack personalities and will not do so to the Director General of an authority who is carrying out his duties as dictated by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
The Accountable Manager told journalists that it has commenced investigations to unravel the authors and its perpetrators online in which it defamed the person of Captain Musa Nuhu on behalf of the airline.
He said, “We wish to state, unequivocally and categorically, and without any iota of doubt, that the recent publication making rounds in the media in which an attack, purported to be masterminded by Azman Air in reaction to NCAA’s suspension of its operations, was launched on the personal integrity of the DG, NCAA, Capt. Musa Nuhu, never came from Azman Air.
“There is no iota o
f truth in that publication as the contents never represented any facts but deliberate falsehood targeted at discrediting not only the hardworking DG but also Azman Air.
“We were equally as shocked as anyone when we saw the unfortunate publication in the social media. Yes, we had our request for expatriate pilots turned down but this has nothing to do with the integrity of the DG as a person as other airlines were so treated hence we have decided to conduct an internal investigation as to the source of this publication.”
The management said, “Our reaction to that publication is coming now because firstly, we were bemused as to why anyone would do this in the first place and secondly, we needed to undertake an in-house investigation as to where this was coming from. Who were the architects of this falsehood? What could be the reasons behind the act?
“How could we have alleged extortion against the DG for requesting that we pay for an advert featuring Azman Air in an ICAO Magazine when the said payment wasn’t for his person but for the publishers? How could we have alleged extortion against him when, in fact, we agreed to the advert and went on to supply our materials for the said advert?
“How could we have alleged extortion as the unfortunate publication insinuated when other airlines from Nigeria paid and advertised in the said magazine? That we didn’t pay as and when due wasn’t a sign of refusal to pay nor sign of any disagreement but an innocent oversight on our part,” it said.
The statement queried: “How could we have alleged any wrongdoing against the DG for carrying out his duties? It is within his core mandate to take the decision he took in suspending the operations of our B737s. We are not unaware of the very high premium the CAA under his regime places on safety.
“It is this reason that dictated and determined the decision of the CAA in our case and not the reasons and falsehood being promoted and alleged in that unfortunate publication dubiously credited to us by some soon to be unraveled hands.”
“We are leaving no stone unturned in our resolve to fish out the authors of this falsehood calculated to dampen our rating in the eye of the public. There was nothing untoward in the DG’s approach as it relates to the ICAO Magazines advert.
“In fact, during the last ICAO conference held in Nigeria, some airlines, in response to the government’s call for financial assistance in hosting the global event and in living up to their Corporate Social Responsibilities, willingly contributed. No one was forced or coerced into contributing to the success of the event. The DG who was then a representative on the ICAO board like his other colleagues, participated in this drive. How could Azman Air now accuse him of any wrongdoing when such efforts were never for his personal gains nor to be paid to his personal account.”
Furthermore, Abdulmunaf explained that “The incoherence in the said publication and the grammar that characterized it should be a pointer to anyone that this never came from us. We wish to state for the avoidance of doubt, that Azman Air is ready and ever willing to cooperate fully with the NCAA in its investigations of our operations as safety has remained our watchword.
“To this end therefore, we wish to disown that unfortunate publication as never coming from Azman. The authors have failed in their deliberate ploy and plot to discredit Azman Air and Capt. Musa Nuhu, the DG, NCAA.”
