The Receiver/Manager of Arik Air Limited (in Receivership) (Arik) and the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has reacted reports in the media that Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, has set aside the decision to transfer Arik Air Limited’s assets by AMCON to another company to run their operations.
In a statement Sunday evening, Jude Nwauzor, Head, Corporate Communications at AMCON, said that the Judgement clearly and without equivocation affirmed that AMCON was competent and empowered to appoint the Receiver/Manager of Arik, that the appointment by AMCON was proper, and that the continued operations of Arik are not affected.
Put simply: the judgment does not affect the operations of Arik or the powers of the Receiver/Manager to superintend the affairs of Arik.
“Specifically, the Judgment did not either:
- rule against the appointment of the Receiver/Manager of Arik or
- (ii) “grant all the prayers of the Plaintiffs” as stated in certain online publications. The Court did hold that the Receiver/Manager was obligated to act in the best interests of Arik and other creditors – a point that AMCON, and the Receiver/Manager have never disputed.
“In any event, AMCON and the Receiver/Manager are dissatisfied with certain parts of the Judgment relating to AMCON’s dealings in specific transactions concerning limited assets. We are exercising our constitutional rights to appeal, in respect of these.
“The public should bear in mind that the issues under appeal have no bearing on the continued operation of Arik as a company in Receivership – as the Court has already affirmed the Receivership.
“We urge media houses and the general public to rely only on certified true copies of court judgments, especially in reportage about court pronouncements”.
