Abuja – The Minister of State, Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, has assured operators of domestic airlines in Nigeria of the determination of the Federal Government to address their challenge of lack foreign exchange (FOREX).
Sirika gave the assurance on Monday when members of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) led by their chairman, Mr Nogie Meggison visited him in Abuja.
He said that he had visited the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Ministry of Finance on the instruction of President Muhammadu Buhari with the view to resolving the issue.
He dismissed the allegation made by operators of domestic airlines that preference was being given to operators of foreign airlines in sourcing foreign exchange.
He promised that the federal government would create level playing field for all airline operators in the country, irrespective of their origin by ensuring that their plights were ameliorated.
On the issue of JET A1 known as aviation fuel, Sirika said that the Nigerian National Petroleun Corporation (NNPC) had assured of its readiness to reposition the country’s refineries to produce the product.
He said that the issue of the price of fuel was beyond his purview, adding that availability of the product was his priority at the moment.
“We are committed to making Jet A1 available and I believe that if our refineries start producing it, the price will naturally come down.
“The whole essence of refining it locally here is not just to make it available, it is also to make it cheaper,’’ he said.
The Minister said his ministry was discussing with the Ministry of Finance and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to ensure that waivers on aircraft and its parts were sustained.
Sirika said that the federal government would review some of the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) it signed with different countries to ensure that they were beneficial to Nigeria.
Earlier, the Chairman of AON, Meggison, told the minister that the purpose of their visit was to draw the attention of government to the issues affecting their operations in the country.
He said that the allocation of FOREX to domestic airlines was adversely affecting their operations and urged the government to put domestic operators on its priority list.
He urged the government to harmonise and remove all multiple taxes charged by regulatory agencies like, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).
Meggison also urged the government to fashion out policies targeted at making aviation contribute 14 per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) .
“We want aviation to create 10,000 direct and 100,000 indirect jobs by 2019 bymaking West Africa domestic operation and making aviation business friendly,’’ he urged.
