August 21, (THEWILL) – Caverton Helicopters owned by popular businessman and a patriarch of high society, Remi Makanjuola, seems to have come back from the brink of near collapse, following concerns about their alleged dwindling clout and fortune.
The company took the initiative by looking inward to effect the necessary changes required of them, so they can return to their pride of place in the aviation sector. First the company appointed Captain Ibrahim Bello as the Managing Director. With over 34 years of continuous aviation experience in various sectors, spanning the Nigeria Air Force to serving in Nigeria’s Presidential Fleet, it was obvious that the company would before long, be out of the woods.
Rotimi, the first son of Makanjuola, who was the Managing Director and Accountability Manager before Bello’s appointment, is now the Group Chief Operating Officer of the company. Bode, another son of Makanjuola, remains the Chief Executive Officer.
No sooner had the leadership restructure taken place than it announced that it has realised a profit -after tax of N203 million in 2022. According to the company secretary, the amount is reportedly 22 per cent dip from the N18.07 billion in the same period of last year, adding that it was due to tremendous financial and operational headwinds in the first half of the year.
Also, the company’s marine subsidiary, Caverton Marine, was repositioned for growth, with its diversification into local manufacturing of GRP boats. It recently launched a 40-seater GRP ferry prototype, which was locally built in accordance to the highest safety and quality standards under the guidance of government and safety agencies.
It has applications in both oil and gas and commercial mass transitferry transportation. Without any doubt, things are looking up for the company. A few months ago, THEWILL had exclusively catalogued some of the challenges the company was passing through in a bid to stay afloat. The company had to deal with a series of crashes – from crash landing of one of their helicopters with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on board, to the crash of another helicopter in Cameroon, killing all passengers on board, including the pilot, Adzuayi Ewuga, who was the daughter of a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Solomon Ewuga. The company also lost its lucrative contract with Chevron Nigeria Limited to a rival company, Bristow Helicopters, allegedly due to the company’s poor maintenance culture. Ironically, the company had allegedly secured about $17 million to finance the Chevron contract. But like a phoenix, Caverton Helicopters, one of Nigeria’s leading providers of marine, aviation and logistics services to local and multinational oil and gas companies in the country, has risen from the ashes.
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