The Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, has said that investors will be allowed to buy stakes in the newly established International Aviation College, Ilorin and manage it for the purposes of professionalism and sustainability.
He said that the state government would first invite consultants to run the institution and make it investment attractive.
The governor, who spoke in Ilorin on Thursday during the state government’s monthly programme, ‘The governor Explains’, also said additional aircraft would be procured for the college through Export-Import loan.
He stated that government businesses in the past did not succeed, hence the preference for public-private partnership.
He said, “The school was set up by the state government ostensibly to drive it to fruition level and then sell its stakes to those who know how to run the business. Kwara State does not know how to run the business of aviation and we are not in the business of running aviation but we can get consultants who will help us set the school up; we’ll package the school and then get those who know how to run the school to buy stakes and do what they know how to do best.
“The school will ultimately be given to those who know how to do it. What we know how to do best is governance and governance requires us to know how to optimally allocate resources.”
He said that the arrangement would be undertaken through a partnership deal involving Nigerian and Chinese governments.
He said the procurement of additional aircraft was desirable to enable the IAC to be more proficient and efficient.
He stated that the EX-IM loan has a repayment programme of 25 years and would be borne by the aviation college.
According to him, the college will get aircraft with the loan rather than accessing cash.
Ahmed added that the existing four aircraft in the school were inadequate to effectively discharge its set objectives of training numerous pilots to reduce the dearth of aviation personnel in Africa.
He stated that the IAC would have a minimum of 15 aircraft in order to meet its objective of training sufficient pilots with international proficiency.
Ahmed said, “When we said we are going to buy aircraft, Kwara State is not going to buy the aircraft. The school is serving so many purposes. It has the social service – economic and political. In the economic end, the school is self-sustaining. It can generate its own money and run itself. But it can only do that on an economy of scale. So when we buy aircraft, we are helping the school to procure aircraft which it will make money from and pay back the loan that we used in buying the aircraft.
“The loan is largely by the benevolence of the Chinese government that is partnering with the Nigerian government to give us an Export-Import loan. The loan will enable us to access aircraft. We are not accessing money. We are going to access aircraft for the school.” The governor said that the loan was being packaged under the office of the Vice President of Nigeria.
He said, “The EX-IM loan is to access aircraft for the school so that it can get economy of scale. It then can earn money, train people and pay back the loan accordingly.
“The cash flow has been worked out and we have seen that it is a doable thing because it is a 25-year loan. So there is very little pressure on its cash flow. So IAC can generate money, run the school, pay back the loan and also become one of the best aviation institutions in the world. Kwara State government is not taking the loan. The school is an institution on its own.”