Tag: Nahco

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (NAHCO Aviance), Mr. Idris Yakubu, has promised to drive attitudinal change among the employees to move the company to the next level.

Speaking at his maiden meeting with workers at the company’s head office, Yakubu said the company required a new and stronger service culture. He added that he was prepared to lead the change.

He said: “We are looking forward to a positive change. You need to improve the areas that you can improve, and we must work together to effect the change. Some of the things required are little but they are very important.

“It is important to understand that we have a lot of work to do to reposition the company and I cannot do it alone. We have to win back our customers and reinforce the positive perception that our stakeholders have of NAHCO. The management of the company is focused on recovering lost grounds and would make a renewed drive for excellence in all its activities its watchword.”

Yakubu said the era of workers taking things for granted was over. They would be held accountable for their “actions or inactions,”he said adding: “If you deliberately commit an error that the company has to pay for, then maybe you should pay. NAHCO’s business should be regarded as our business and we must all take ownership.”

He applauded the promotion  undertaken by the company, which he described as “unparalleled in the industry,” and said it was not in his character to lead a demotivated workforce.

Pointing out that he made some input into the final promotion list, Yakubu said his desire was to do more as staffers become more productive and show greater diligence in their work, resulting in greater and improved performance by the company.

He solicited for the support of staff in the effort to move nahco aviance forward, adding “We must work together to increase revenues, reduce and optimise our costs and exceed our customers’ expectations. Let the world know that NAHCO is the best in its service and product offerings.”

He concluded that the Company will focus on aggressive debt recovery with a sizeable chunk of the recovered funds invested in acquiring new equipment.

The Chairman of the Board of the Company, Arc Usman Arabi Bello, who made a brief stop-over at the Head Office while the meeting was in session, urged the staff to support the MD/CEO.

He encouraged staff to support Yakubu and come up with new ideas to improve things in the Company. Bello pointed out nonetheless, that without any doubt, Yakubu is the new boss and that “The Boss is the boss.”

Idris Yakubu was appointed Friday, November, 3 2017, but formally took over duties at the NAHCO House on November, 20 2017.

He had since taking over visited operational areas in the Lagos MMIA area and other units of the company to meet with staff

•Idris Yakubu is new CEO

No fewer than 846 workers of the 2,000 Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) Plc. workforce have been promoted.

The exercise, according to its spokesman, Tayo Ajakaye, was unprecedented in the sector as it represented more than 45 per cent of the company’s workforce.

The step by the ground handling company, Ajakaye said, was approved by the board of directors last week as part of its staff improvement programme.

The promotion, Ajakaye said, came against the backdrop of an economy that is still in technical recession to demonstrate the value the firm places on its staff.

In a statement to announce the promotion, the outgoing Acting Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer,  Mrs. Folashade Ode, said  the  exercise was based on well – defined criteria that ensured fairness and transparency

She restated the company’s resolve to keep a happy and well–motivated workforce.

The statement read: “A more transparent, performance driven reward and compensation system will be put in place to improve our overall service quality with positive impact on our revenue and profitability.”

She urged all staff to reciprocate the Board’s kind gesture by rededicating themselves to their duties to further enhance NAHCO’s progress.

The promotion exercise came about two years after the company promoted 390 of its staff. It was carried out in September 2015 and was widely applauded by the aviation unions and other stakeholders, who urged other operators in the industry to emulate NAHCO’s commendable welfare policies.

Only in July this year, the company effected salary increment with some members of staff getting as much as 15 per cent increase in their salaries.

In a related development, NAHCO has announced  the appointment of Mr. Yakubu Idris as the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.

Yakubu will take over from Mrs. Folashade Ode, who was appointed in an acting capacity following the exit of Mr. Norbert Bielderman on August 31, 2017.

Yakubu joined NAHCO with a vast wealth of experience, spanning 28 years in financial management, leadership, strategy, business development, organisational change and business renewal.

Freighting of agricultural and perishable cargoes and other non-consumable products at the nation’s international airports has increased by 10 per cent, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) Chief Commercial Officer Seyi Adewale has said.

He said the air freight of such cargoes increased from about two per cent to 12.5 per cent in the last few years due to the export promotion policy.

He listed the perishable cargoes to include tomatoes, vegetable and yams.Other non-consumable cargoes include native fabrics, hair extension and donkey skins.

Adewale said the rise in cargo export to the United States, European, Asian,Middle East and African countries in the last few years has forced the cargo handling company to upgrade the security and safety standards of its  cargo warehouse.

In an interview in Lagos, Adewale said the firm has stepped up the level of security and safety of its facilities because airlines that ferry air cargo are concerned about the level of compliance of air cargo in line with prescribed global standards.

He said: “Perishables cargo export has grown from as low as two per cent to about 12 per cent in the last few years, representing over  10 per cent  increase. Since we handle about 80 per cent  of the cargo in and out of the country, this for us is large.”

According to him, most of the shipments go to the US, which constitutes the highest percentage for export.

Giving a breakdown, he said 38 per cent of exports coming through his company’s warehouse goes to US, while 34 per cent go to Europe, which includes the United Kingdom.

Also, while 15  per cent of the cargo go to Africa, nine per cent go to Asia, leaving only two per cent to the Middle  East.

Adewale added that perishables like tomatoes, fruit and vegetables amongst others have grown and are still growing.

“People are now exporting yams. They also export dry fish and general goods such as non-consumables like cloths, native fabrics, hair extensions and donkey skins,” he said.

Besides stepping up security and safety of its facilities, Adewale said NAHCO was subjected to a twice- monthly technical audit by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

The audit by the three bodies , he said, was to ensure that any cargo that goes into any aircraft was safe, not harmful and illegal.

Adewale said: “One of the challenges of exportation in Nigeria is the requirements for us to maintain a world class export warehouse.

“We have two X-ray machines. To service these machines on a quarterly basis cost millions of naira and that is if there are no major repairs to be carried out.

“Airlines are more concerned about exports because whatever they are going to put on their aircraft must be right in terms of safety and security. Airlines are conscious about the export facilities, export processes and security.”

According to him, this puts the company on the edge, with at least,  two audits monthly by ICAO and other relevant agencies.

He said another challenge is that because the business is growing and the company need to expand, the little money it makes is ploughed back into the business.

“We recently extended our acceptance section to another product packaging section so that we decongest the export warehouse because of the capacity,” Adewale added.

The Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCo) Aviance Plc  has signed an agreement to provide services to six airlines.

The new agreement, according to  Mr Tayo Ajakaye is to cement its leadership in the business.

He said  the airline  include international air operators,    including MeridianaFly (Italian Airline), Mid-African Airlines (new Gambia Flag Carrier) which are making entries into Nigeria for the first time.

Another airline is  Rwanda Air,  which  has   concluded plans to fly the Abuja – Kigali route.

Also in the new business deal is MainstreamAviation.

On the domestic front, the firm also signed deals to provide ground handling service for Air Peace in Akure,Ondo State, and AzmanAir in Maiduguri and Yola.

Speaking on the development, the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of the company, Mr. Seyi Adewale said the current economic environment has provided opportunity for the company to be creative.

Agents and customers of Nahco Aviance are groaning under the new payment system introduced by the firm.

The new automated system called Galaxy Air Cargo Management System replaces the former application, Hermes, which  agents were  already familiar with.

Some agents and clients who spoke to The Nation claimed that Nahco introduced the system without  consulting them.

They said the Galaxy system is  epileptic, inefficient and causes delays.

A Nahco source confirmed the agents’claim, adding that some of them were thinking of sending their cargoes to alternative ground handlers.

A former senior management staff member of the ground handling firm said Nahco spent millions of naira on training workers on Hermes upgrade in the Unite Kingdom (UK).

He said it was a surprise to the company that the Hermes system was replaced with Galaxy.

He said the investment on the   training of workers on the new app would cost the firm so much even as it will lead to needless time wasting.

According to the source, no  worker in the information communication technology (ICT) department of the firm was trained on the use of the new software.

“Would you believe that the admininstration right to this system is being managed from either  India or South Africa? Even to fix just a dot, we have to send mails to them or call them on phone.

“For an application that we have paid several hundreds of thousands of dollars, it is really unpleasant that we still have to depend on a foreign country to fix the smallest problem,’’ the source added.

One of the partners of the new app providers, Kale Logistics Solutions Pvt. Ltd. in a  June 2 statement posted on its website, celebrated its achievement, claiming it did a ‘Proof of Concept’ to demonstrate its strengths.

But investigations revealed that the workers of the firm spend hours on the new system.

A source accused one of the company’s  top personnel of lacking the capacity to handle the new system.

The senior official, it was alleged,  was unable to ask the relevant questions on the Galaxy deal.

Corporate Communications and Services Manager at Nahco, Mr. Tayo Ajakaye, said the company was aware of the agents’ complaints, adding that the Commercial Department of the firm was doing everything  to solve the problem.

However, he could not confirm if the problems arising from the use of Galaxy was causing revenue loss to the company, adding that the lull in economic activities in the country, rather than the Galaxy system, might be responsible for revenue loss if at all there was any.