By Modupe Gbadeyanka
**As Denis Hasdenteufel takes over
Chairman of the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company PLC (NAHCO Aviance), Mallam Suleiman Yahyah, has resigned from the board.
His letter of resignation has been communicated to the regulators.
Mr Yahyah cited the urgent need to attend to his failing health as the reason for his decision to bow out.
With the resignation of Mr Yahyah, the Vice Chairman, Mr Denis Hasdenteufel, would take over the leadership of the Board in an acting capacity and will preside over all meetings of the Board pending the approval of regulators and further announcements from stakeholders.
Mr Yahyah, who was appointed a director of the Company in November 2006, became the Chairman of NAHCO in July 2012.
He had in recent months come under mounting pressures from his family to step down to enable him undergo a proper medical attention.
Credited with the strategic reorganization of the company to its current modern status, Mr Yahyah had been battling with an undisclosed health issue for a couple of years now.
During his tenure, NAHCO witnessed unprecedented turnover which grew from N6.92 billion when he took over leadership of the board to N8.5 billion at Year End 2015.
This, we learnt, is in addition to increase in number of employees from about 1,100 to an all-time high of 1,980.
During this period, the company’s asset base also grew from N9 billion to N15 billion.
The hallmark of Mr Yahyah’s tenure at NAHCO was the modernization of company’s equipment to align with world’s standards in modern ground handling service.
He was credited with equipping NAHCO with state-of-the-art equipment that made the Company the great force that it is today in ground handling service in sub-Sahara Africa.
The diversification of the company which the board under his tenure embarked upon led to the establishment of NAHCO FTZ with the granting of a licence for same by the Federal Government. The Mainland Cargo Options also joined the growing list of companies in the group.
Mr Yahyah also promoted a harmonious company-labour relations which ensure minimal disruption in company’s business operations.
His welfare–oriented policies include the introduction of performance based pay (PMP) to employees and profit–sharing for workers.
He introduced a management succession programme into the Company that ensured a smooth transition from one CEO to another.
Under his leadership, NAHCO became the most successful privatisation story in the history of privatisation programme in Nigeria.
