LAGOS—Nigeria Airways’ workers have asked the Court of Appeal to set aside the ruling of a Federal High Court, Abuja, that the airline be placed on compulsory liquidation.
Justice Stephen Jonah Adah had on July 9, 2004, ruled in favour of management of the airline who, in filing the suit, prayed for compulsory rather than voluntary liquidation.
The ruling, which awarded N3,000 to the plaintiff as damages, equally set the commencement of liquidation for July 31, 2004.
The trial judge had based his ruling on the lack of interest and confidence by potential investors in the airline; huge and rising debt profile of the airline which stands at $47 million, N48 billion local and sundry debts and depreciation and dissipation of the assets of the company.
He also cited the utter inability of the company to meet any part of the huge and accumulating monthly wage bill of N322 million as the basis for the ruling.
But in an appeal filed at the Court of Appeal by the workers July, 23, 2004, the workers asked the court to set aside the judgement of the Federal High Court, saying the trial judge had before him the “unchallenged’ and “uncontroverted” affidavit sworn to by the appellant that petitioner (Nigeria Airways) had, prior to the presentation of the present petition, embarked on voluntary winding up of the company.
Counsel to Nigeria Airways employees, Adesoji Adebola, contended also that by virtue of the certified true copy of an affidavit deposed to by the petitioner as plaintiff in the suit No FHC/ABJ/CS/288/02, where the special resolution and declaration of solvency were exhibited, the petitioner is forbidden from denying that there is in existence a voluntary winding up of the airline.
He argued further that once a company, under the Companies and Allied Matters Act, had filed for voluntary liquidation, it was not possible to now revert to compulsory liquidation.
Nigeria Airways workers and the management had been at daggers drawn over the liquidation of the airline.
While the workers contend that the airline was solvent enough to pay them off, the management on the other hand argued that the airline was not solvent enough to pay the workers’ severance benefits and debts owed creditors unless it was compulsorily liquidated.
