11.66° N · 09.31° E  /  DUTSE · JIGAWA

Bringing world-class aircraft maintenance home to Nigeria.

AFMS Meridian Limited is developing a modern Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul facility to keep Nigerian and West African fleets airworthy — without the cost, delay and capital flight of sending aircraft abroad.

$1bn+
flown out of Nigeria each year for overseas maintenance
48+
commercial aircraft grounded against a fleet of ~100
$4–6m
per C-check — required every 12 to 18 months
0
dedicated commercial MRO facilities in Northern Nigeria
Who We Are

A Nigerian answer to a Nigerian problem.

For decades, Nigerian operators have ferried their aircraft thousands of kilometres abroad — paying in scarce foreign exchange and losing weeks of revenue per aircraft.

AFMS Meridian — Aero Facility & Maintenance Services — is a Nigerian-owned MRO company founded by a team of civilian and military aviation professionals. We provide line maintenance, base maintenance, component and avionics services for commercial, business and government fleets.

Our mission is simple: to make Nigeria the place where Nigerian aircraft are maintained.

Our Story

At a Glance

  • FORM Nigerian-owned limited company
  • HQ Maitama, Abuja FCT
  • FACILITY Dutse International Airport, Jigawa
  • FOUNDERS Civilian & military aviation professionals
  • STATUS In development · building toward NCAA AMO approval
  • SERVING Kano · Kaduna · Abuja · West African corridor
What We Do

Four pillars of capability

An offering structured around how airlines actually operate — from the daily turnaround to the heavy check that currently forces fleets abroad.

01

Line Maintenance

Daily, transit and routine A-checks, ramp inspections and defect rectification that keep aircraft in service with minimal downtime.

02

Base Maintenance

Scheduled C-checks with progressive D-check capability: structural inspection, airframe overhaul, corrosion control and modifications.

03

Components & Avionics

Repair, overhaul, testing and certification of components, plus avionics upgrades and regulatory compliance modifications.

04

AOG & Engine Support

Rapid-response Aircraft-on-Ground teams, engine line maintenance and borescope inspection across the Northern corridor.

Let's keep Nigeria's fleet flying — and keep the value at home.

About AFMS Meridian

Closing aviation's most expensive gap.

We exist to reverse one of the most persistent drains on Nigerian aviation: the absence of accessible, world-class heavy maintenance at home.

AFMS Meridian Limited was formed to close one of the most expensive gaps in Nigerian aviation — the absence of a fully equipped facility capable of comprehensive heavy maintenance.

For years, Nigerian operators have been compelled to ferry aircraft to Ethiopia, Morocco, Egypt, the UAE, Italy and South Africa for major checks — paying in scarce foreign exchange, losing weeks of revenue per aircraft, and exporting the engineering jobs that should belong to Nigerians.

We are being built as a full-spectrum MRO provider serving commercial airlines, business aviation, charter operators and government fleets across Nigeria and the West African region.

Mission, Vision & Values

  • MISSION Safe, reliable, internationally certified maintenance in Nigeria — eliminating capital flight and aircraft-on-ground time.
  • VISION The leading independent MRO hub for Northern Nigeria and the West African corridor.
  • VALUES Safety above all · engineering integrity · indigenous capability · operational reliability · transparency.
The Founders' Insight

Built by people who saw the problem from the inside.

AFMS Meridian was founded by a group of experienced civilian and military aviation professionals who saw the same problem from the inside — and decided to build the institution Nigeria has needed for two decades.

They saw Nigerian Air Force engineering depth, a talent pipeline trained at NCAT Zaria, and a domestic fleet starved of timely maintenance. AFMS Meridian brings those assets together under one roof, in one underserved geography, with one purpose: airworthiness, delivered at home.

AFMS Meridian Limited is in active development. References to facilities and certifications describe our planned build-out and regulatory roadmap.

Our Services

A complete maintenance offering.

Structured around how airlines, business operators and government fleets actually run — certified work, committed turnaround, and Naira-denominated billing wherever possible.

01

Line Maintenance

Daily, transit and routine checks — A-checks, pre-flight, ramp inspections and defect rectification — keeping aircraft in service with minimal downtime.

02

Base / Heavy Maintenance

Scheduled C-checks and progressive D-check capability: structural inspection, airframe overhaul, corrosion control, modifications and refurbishment — the work currently forcing operators abroad.

03

Component & Rotable Services

Repair, overhaul, testing and certification of components, plus rotable pool and exchange programmes designed to cut Aircraft-on-Ground time.

04

Avionics & Modifications

Avionics upgrades, instrument calibration, connectivity and cabin retrofits, and regulatory compliance modifications including navigation and surveillance upgrades.

05

Engine Services

Engine line maintenance, borescope inspection and partnerships for shop-level overhaul of installed and spare powerplants.

06

AOG & Mobile Support

Rapid-response Aircraft-on-Ground teams and diversion / ad-hoc support across the Northern corridor, minimising costly grounded time.

07

Technical Training & Manpower

Apprenticeship and licensed-engineer development in partnership with NCAT Zaria and the broader Nigerian training ecosystem.

08

Fleet & Government Services

Tailored maintenance programmes for government, paramilitary and special-mission fleets requiring discretion and reliability.

Facilities & Capabilities

Engineered for the fleets Nigeria flies.

A modern facility designed around narrow-body and regional aircraft, with a clear, phased path to wide-body and engine-shop capability.

Infrastructure

  • Modern hangar designed for narrow-body and regional fleets
  • Component, avionics and NDT (non-destructive testing) workshops
  • Stores, spares logistics and customs-bonded warehouse
  • Apron, towing and ground support equipment
  • Calibration laboratory and paint / strip bay (phased)

Operating Standards

  • Procedures aligned to EASA Part-145 / FAA equivalents
  • Independent Safety Management System (SMS)
  • Quality Assurance reporting outside the production line
  • Committed turnaround times on scheduled checks
  • Full maintenance records and traceability
Build-Out Roadmap

A phased, fundable path.

We present our capability honestly — built in stages, each one operational and revenue-generating before the next.

PHASE I

Line & Light Base

Establish line maintenance, A-checks and light base capability at Dutse; stand up stores, tooling and the core engineering team.

Foundation
PHASE II

Full C-Check Hangar

Commission the heavy-maintenance hangar for comprehensive C-checks — the capability that ends the ferry-abroad cycle for Northern operators.

Core MRO
PHASE III

Wide-Body & Engine Shop

Extend to wide-body airframes and shop-level engine overhaul, positioning AFMS Meridian as a regional West African hub.

Regional Hub
Why Dutse · Why The North

The right facility in the right place.

Nigeria's existing and announced MRO capacity clusters in Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna and Uyo. The North-West and North-East — and the regional traffic they anchor — have no dedicated commercial MRO. That is the gap we fill.

GEOGRAPHY

A true Northern hub

Dutse serves Kano, Kaduna, Abuja and regional West African traffic without the congestion and slot pressure of the southern airports.

TALENT

Proximity to capability

Close to Nigerian Air Force engineering infrastructure and the trained talent pool of NCAT Zaria — the country's principal aviation training institution.

WHITE SPACE

An uncontested geography

Rather than competing head-on with southern facilities, AFMS Meridian serves an underserved region — and the airlines that operate it daily.

POLICY

Aligned with national priorities

The Federal Government has publicly committed to ending maintenance capital flight. A Northern MRO advances airport utilisation, regional jobs and that national goal.

Industry & Market

The case is already written — in foreign exchange.

Every figure below points to the same conclusion: Nigeria needs domestic heavy-maintenance capacity, and it needs it in the underserved North.

~100
commercial aircraft in the Nigerian fleet
23
active domestic airlines
~913
licensed aircraft engineers nationwide
2+ wks
revenue lost each time a jet leaves for a check

No domestic facility currently performs comprehensive C-checks — so the work, and the money, leaves the country.

Domestic carriers are compelled to ferry aircraft to Ethiopia, Italy, Morocco, Egypt, the UAE and South Africa for heavy maintenance. Estimates of the resulting annual capital flight range from official figures of around $200 million to industry estimates exceeding $1 billion every year.

With a single C-check costing $4–6 million and falling due every 12 to 18 months, the economics of a credible domestic MRO are compelling — and the Federal Government has signalled clear intent to keep that spend at home.

The Opportunity

  • DEMAND A large, recurring, non-discretionary maintenance requirement
  • SCARCITY Severe shortage of domestic C-check capacity
  • GEOGRAPHY Zero dedicated commercial MRO in the North
  • POLICY Government committed to curbing capital flight
  • FX CASE Naira-denominated maintenance retains national value

Market figures are drawn from publicly reported industry and regulatory sources and are indicative of the operating environment.

Leadership & Governance

Experience that earns trust.

AFMS Meridian is led by a team drawn from both civilian and military aviation — engineering, operations, quality and regulatory affairs. A structured board and advisory function underpins governance from day one.

Chairman

Board & Strategy

Strategic direction, governance and stakeholder relations across government and industry.

Managing Director / CEO

Executive Leadership

Day-to-day leadership, commercial development and execution of the facility roadmap.

Director of Maintenance

Engineering

Maintenance operations, technical standards and the engineering organisation.

Head of Quality & Safety

Compliance

Quality assurance, the Safety Management System and NCAA regulatory liaison.

Commercial Director

Business Development

Client relationships, contracts and partnerships with airlines and operators.

Advisory Board

Counsel

Senior civilian and military aviation figures providing strategic and technical counsel.

Named appointments will be announced as the organisation is formally constituted.

Safety & Compliance

Airworthiness is not negotiable.

Safety and regulatory integrity are the foundation of everything we build — for our clients, their passengers, and the regulator.

NCAA AMO Pathway

AFMS Meridian is building toward certification as a Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority Approved Maintenance Organisation (AMO) — the regulatory foundation for all scheduled work.

International Alignment

Our procedures are designed to align with EASA Part-145 and FAA equivalents, supporting confidence among operators and lessors.

Safety Management System

An independent SMS embeds hazard identification, risk management and a just safety culture across every function.

Independent Quality Assurance

Our Quality function reports outside the production line — ensuring that airworthiness, not throughput, always has the final word.

Careers

Build your aviation career at home.

For too long, Nigeria's best aviation engineers have had to look abroad. We are building somewhere they can stay.

Licensed engineers, apprentices, and returning professionals.

We are developing pathways for licensed aircraft maintenance engineers, structured apprenticeships in partnership with NCAT Zaria, and a programme to welcome experienced Nigerian engineers home from the diaspora.

Register Your Interest
Contact

Start the conversation.

Whether you operate a fleet, represent government, or are exploring partnership and investment — we would be glad to hear from you.

Corporate Headquarters
59 Osuma Street, off Gana Street,
Maitama, Abuja FCT, Nigeria
Operating Facility
Dutse International Airport,
Jigawa State, Nigeria
Telephone
+234 803 800 1900
Web
www.afmsmeridian.com
Enquiries
Service · Partnership · Investment · Careers · Media