Ethiopia Airline boss Girma Wake has tendered his resignation letter and quit his role as the chairman of the Airline.
Although, there are insinuations and reports linking the resignation of the Chairman of Ethiopian Airlines, Girma Wake to the controversy surrounding the hiring of Nigeria Air, the main reason for quitting his role has not been officially established.
However, Ethiopia has since appointed the head of the country’s air force, Lieutenant General Yilma Merdassa, to replace Wake.
Yilma has been a staunch member of the Ethiopia’s air force and has served on the company’s board of directors “for the last two and half years,” before assuming his new role on June 8, the carrier said.
Wake, a 79-year-old veteran of the African airline industry, joined the company in 1965 and served as its Chief Executive Officer from 2004-2011, a period of strong growth for the carrier, before taking on its chairmanship in March 2022.
Girma’s “contribution to the growth and success of the airline group has been enormous and will take a special place in the history of the group,” the company said in a press release.
Wake’s resignation comes amidst controversy surrounding the establishment of Nigeria’s national carrier, Nigeria Air but the reason for his resignation remains unknown.
Last week, the Interim Managing Director of Nigeria Air, Capt Dapo Olumide, said the aircraft used to unveil the country’s national career was a legitimate chartered flight from Ethiopian Airlines, adding that the aircraft was returned to Ethiopian Airlines after the unveiling on the last day of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
Nigeria’s Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Aviation have both labelled the launch of the Nigeria Air as a fraud.