Hajj Operations: Med-View accuses NAHCON of contract breach

Nigeria’s Med-View Airline has accused the Acting Chairman, National Hajj Commission, Alhaji Abdullahi Mukhtar, of breaching the contractual terms reached with the airline for the airlift of pilgrims to and fro Saudi Arabia.

TW gathered that the airline has officially petitioned the presidency over what it described as wicked contravention of the agreement by the NAHCON boss for selfish interest.

A copy of the petition, made available to journalists, alleged that “Mukhtar acted wickedly, in contravention of the agreement and frustrated Med-View Airline from continuing with the exercise as earlier agreed.

The airline said the Acting NAHCON Chairman compelled it to partner with Flynas, a foreign carrier in Saudi Arabia against its initial arrangement to partner another Nigerian carrier, Max Air.

According to the airline, this was an act of sabotage on the nation’s economy and an infringement on its contractual rights to choose its partner with which to conduct swift operations.

Providing more details, the solicitor to Med-View, Barrister Debo Adeleke, the Principal Lead Counsel, Maritime, Commercial and Immigration Law Chambers, disclosed that the airline was supposed to be paid $8,897,663.63 as the total contractual sum for the airlift of 5, 720 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for the 2019 Hajj.

According to him, the contract was initiated on May 20, 2019, with First Bank as the guarantor.

He said the contractual terms stipulated that before the commencement of contract execution, NAHCON was to make 50 per cent payment of the total sum to Med-View for mobilization, which was supposed to be $4,448,831.08.

Adeleke revealed further that the Commission allegedly failed to pay the 50 per cent recommendation, and only managed to make a late payment of 25 per cent of the total sum, which was $2,412,539 on July 15, 2019, five days into the exercise.

Information gathered from the NAHCON website revealed that the airline airlifted 4,383 pilgrims in five days of the exercise, with eight airlifts, before it was disallowed from continuing with the exercise.

In a letter dated July 5, 2019, and addressed to the Chairman, NAHCON, the Chief Executive Officer, Med-View Airline, Alhaji Muneer Bankole, demanded for payment of $900,000 to be made available to the Arabian General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) and TAIBAH, $400,000 and $500, 000, respectively.

The airline explained that the $900,000 payment was for the “exigency with regards to preparation for 2019 hajj airlift exercise.”

Another letter with the reference number: MCILC/STFGN/NCBTAAB/01/19, dated August 5, 2019, and addressed to the Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, accused NAHCON Chairman of malicious treatment of the carrier (Med-View).

The letter, which clearly emanated from the Solicitor to Med-View, revealed that the total sum for the contract was to be paid in four tranches – 50, 30, 10 and another 10 per cent, but noted that as at August 5, the agreement was not redeemed by NAHCON.

The report added: “35 per cent of the contract sum is payable on the positioning of aircraft by our client for the commencement of the hajj operation and completion of all agreements for the outbound flights, while 10 per cent of the contract sum is meant for the inbound.

“Sir, it is highly unfortunate and agonising that while our client had meticulously, sincerely and religiously kept to the terms and spirit of the agreement between parties, the acting chairman of NAHCON, failed, refused and neglected to honour the terms and spirit of the said agreement.

“To salvage the ugly situation, a resolution was reached amongst parties on the 24th July 2019 whereby amongst other things, the commission was mandated to pay both 50 and 35 per cent contract sum to our client.”

The solicitor insisted that rather than allow Med-View to continue with the hajj exercise with its contractual agreement with Max Air, Mukhtar wanted to compel Med-View to put some of its pilgrims on Flynas, a Saudi Arabia’s airline, alleging that the NAHCON boss was nursing a personal interest in the deal.

The airline demanded the payment of the remaining 35 per cent, which it said was already due and 10 per cent of the contract sum in readiness of the return of the pilgrims.

In other revelations, another petition to the Acting Chairman, National Hajj Commission (NAHCON), dated August 16, 2019 and copied the Vice President, Chief of Staff to the President, Secretary to the Federal Government of Nigeria and First Bank, the solicitor to Med-view said that the letter written by NAHCON, stating that it had paid the sum of $5,576,582.50, representing 63 per cent of the total contract of $8,897,663.63 was incorrect.

Debunking NAHCON’s letter with figures, the airline said that it received the total sum of $5,576,550.5, but insisted that it airlifted 6,443 at the total value of $10,007,550.00 and that the amount received did not make 63 per cent as claimed by NAHCON.

It said that Flynas, a foreign carrier was “selfishly imposed on our client against the indigenous airline in the name of Max Airline.”

The airline emphasized that the idea of forcing a foreign airline on the carrier was an act of economic sabotage and “a clear negation of the extant Federal Government policies.”

A source from the NAHCON, who declined name mention, confirmed that the exercise was marred with “personal interests.”

The source said: “I don’t want to comment much on this because I am not the official spokesman of this commission, but something is clear, the exercise is marred with personal interests.

It is not the job of NAHCON to compel an airline to partner with any other carrier.

Once you have received the nod to participate, what concerns NAHCON is the airlifting of the pilgrims.”

NAHCON, however, has not issued an official statement to explain its complicity in the alleged contract breach.