The Chairman of Ethiopian Airlines, Girma Wake, has resigned.

Ethiopia has since appointed the head of the country’s air force, Lieutenant General Yilma Merdassa, to replace Wake.

While commander of Ethiopia’s air force, Yilma 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.

Ethiopian Airlines, a 100 percent state-owned company that prides itself on being the only profitable airline on the African continent, posted a profit of $937 million for the 2021-2022 fiscal year.

Yilma has commanded Ethiopia’s air force since June 2018 and was appointed to that post by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed two months after he came to power.