Air Peace MRO: Allen Onyema lied, never approached us for land, didn’t pay us ₦100m–Umueri Community

Maureen Aguta

The Umueri Community has said that there is no truth in story making in the social media which claimed that the Chairman of Air Peace, Mr Allen Onyema paid ₦100 million to the community for a peace of land to build his ₦32 billion Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) at the Anambra Airport.

The community in a statement signed by its Traditional Ruler, HRM Igwe Dr Bennett Emeka JP (Oke-Ebo 11 of Umueri), said that it was however, aware that Chief Onyema started a land transaction to build his MRO with Anambra State Government during tenure of Ex Governor Willie Obiano, saying the Air Peace would have had any reason to have any dealing with the community as the peace of land he wanted belonged to the state government, though donated to the government by the community for the airport project.

The statement reads in part: “The Umueri has been made aware of the malicious claims attributed to Chief Allen Onyema, the owner of Air Peace, that have recently been trending on social media and elsewhere. The false claims allege that Chief Onyema decided to site his N32 billion Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility in Lagos because the local community refused to provide land for the project, even after he had paid them N100 million for the purpose.

“The Umueri community categorically states that these claims, attributed to Chief Allen Onyema, are false and misleading.

“As records show, the Umueri community cooperated with the Anambra State government in the establishment of the Chinua Achebe International Airport, Umueri, situated at Ivite-Umueri in Umueri, Anambra State. The airport was officially launched in 2017 and inaugurated for commercial operations on October 30, 2021. Today, the airport serves several neighbouring states, with airlines operating flights to and from Abuja and Lagos.

“The Anambra State Government acquired the entire land for the airport in lots: A, B, C and D. It latter released Parcel D to Umueri community. We are aware that Chief Onyema applied for land to build an MRO facility at the airport. His application was approved by Chief Willie Obiano, the then Governor of Anambra State, who also approved another piece of land for the Nigerian Air Force. We are further aware that the land allocated to Chief Onyema for his proposed MRO facility sits next to the Cargo Apron and Control Tower. The said land is in Parcel A, which the State Government acquired.

“The story that the Umueri community warned Chief Onyema off their land can only have come from an imagination intent on tarnishing the good name of our community. It is not true that Chief Onyema paid the Umueri community N100 million. We never allocated any land to the man. The Anambra State Government did. We, therefore, cannot have demanded or received any payment from him.

“We assert that we have documents that disprove the airline owner’s claims, and we are willing to make them available to relevant authorities and the public. The Umueri Community has always been supportive of development initiatives and will continue to work with stakeholders to foster economic growth and progress in Anambra State,” the statement said

It further urged the public to disregard the false claims and recognize the community’s commitment to cooperation and development.