The Chief Executive Officer and Accountable Manager of Aero Contractors Company of Nigeria Limited, Captain Ado Sanusi, has urged the Federal Government to increase investment in aviation, warning that Nigeria could lose passengers, jobs and capital to competing destinations if the sector is not given greater priority.
Sanusi made the call in Lagos during Aero Contractors’ 67th anniversary celebration, themed, “Going the Extra Mile.”
He said aviation should be deliberately incorporated into the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda because of its potential to stimulate tourism, trade, employment and foreign investment.
According to him, inadequate investment in airports, aviation services and maintenance facilities could undermine Nigeria’s competitiveness and leave some airports underutilised.
Sanusi raised concerns about developments in neighbouring countries, noting that new airport and aircraft maintenance facilities were being established close to Nigeria’s borders and within easy reach of Lagos.
He warned that such developments could attract Nigerian passengers, airlines and aviation businesses unless the country responded with strategic investments of its own.
“Aviation is not simply a mode of transport,” Sanusi said, stressing that countries across Africa and other regions had deliberately used the sector to support economic development.
He acknowledged the Federal Government’s investment in roads, electricity, agriculture and infrastructure at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, but said aviation required more specific attention within the country’s economic agenda.
“Where is Aviation in the Renewed Hope agenda?” he asked.
From crop spraying to integrated aviation
Sanusi described Aero Contractors as Nigeria’s oldest airline and said its 67-year history reflected the resilience of its employees and the company itself.
Founded in 1959 as a charter and crop-spraying operator, the airline later became an important aviation service provider to the oil and gas industry.
It subsequently expanded into scheduled passenger services, charter operations, rotary-wing services, aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul, as well as pilot training.
Sanusi recalled periods when the airline’s entire fleet was grounded and its operations suspended, but said its workforce remained committed to keeping the company alive.
He credited engineers, pilots, cabin crew, ground personnel and other employees with helping Aero Contractors survive years of financial and operational uncertainty.
MRO facility strengthens regional role
The airline chief also highlighted Aero Contractors’ maintenance, repair and overhaul capabilities.
He recalled the completion of a C-check on a Boeing 737 at the company’s Lagos facility in January 2018, describing it as Nigeria’s first indigenous Boeing 737 C-check in 14 years and an important milestone for West and Central Africa.
The MRO facility now provides maintenance services to airlines in West Africa, further expanding Aero Contractors’ role beyond passenger transportation.
Sanusi said the airline’s financial position had also improved, with its operating margin moving from negative 134 per cent in 2022 to positive territory in 2025.
He attributed part of the recovery to the intervention of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, which acquired a majority stake in Aero Contractors in 2016.
He also acknowledged the contributions of AMCON and the airline’s Receiver/Manager, Senator Adeniyi Ayodele Adegbonmire, during the company’s restructuring.
Describing Aero Contractors as a national asset, Sanusi called for continued support for the airline and the wider aviation industry.
He maintained that stronger investment in aviation would help Nigeria retain economic opportunities that could otherwise migrate to competing countries.
“Aero Contractors has flown through storms before. God willing, we will keep flying,” he said.
