Nigeria's Caverton Group In Charge of Benin Republic’s Presidential Fleet Maintenance

 

As a boost for Nigerian companies, Caverton Group, a major provider of marine, aviation and logistics services, has begun the maintenance of the Benin Republic Presidential Air Fleet.

The Chief Executive Officer of Caverton Offshore Support, Olabode Makanjuola, who made the revelation as a passing remark during the ongoing Nigerian Oil and Gas (NOG) Conference, noted that the firm was also now invested in the maintenance of fleets belonging to the Nigerian armed forces. The firm further unveiled a 40-seater prototype water bus, which it said will support its marine transport, especially across coastal areas in the country.

Makanjuola noted that the company holds about 60 to 70 percent market share in Nigeria, adding that when it noticed that the aviation sector was struggling with maintenance and training, it built the first ever maintenance, repair and overhaul centre in Lagos.

He stated that there was no longer any need to fly aircrafts outside the country for repairs since the company has taken up such work in aircraft maintenance.

“One of the interesting things is that we do that for our entire fleet and we now do third parties as well. So, the Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force and even the Presidential fleet of the Benin Republic actually use our services. The idea is to create a hub in Sub Saharan Africa for this sort of operation,” he stressed.

The CEO noted that when the firm first started operations, 80 percent of all its pilots were expatriates, while today, 75 per cent to 90 per cent are Nigerians.

He added: “We were able to build our first prototype boat which is oil industry standard, meaning that it is very safe and we are very proud of it as it is our newest project.

“It can also be used as a crew boat for the International Oil Companies (IOCs). We are looking at all the riverine areas, we have got people interested in this in Akwa Ibom, Rivers, among others.”

On aviation services which Caverton started in 2004, the CEO said because Nigeria lacked a Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO)facility, it has now built the first one.

“We were able to build our first prototype boat with oil industry standards and applications which could be used as crew boats for the IOCs and other oil producers in Lagos, Delta and other areas,” he stressed.

Recalling the beginning of the firm in Nigeria, he said the offshore logistics company operated both in aviation and marine in 1999 with Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and began Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) LPG distribution programme in 2004.

According to him, it moved into the aviation space with the support of Nigeria Content Development and Management Board (NCDMB) and Shell and was able to break into that market of which it currently holds a large share.

“We first got into a helicopter because we realised that there were no Nigerians in that sector and we conquered. We realised that the aviation sector was struggling with MRO facilities as well as training, so we built the first business repair and overhaul centre in Nigeria,” he stated.