Abuja – A group of business people, Private Sector Coalition on Competition Bill, has advised the Federal Government to address the failures in power and aviation sectors.

The Technical Adviser to the Coalition, Mr Leonard Ugbajah, gave the advice at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja on Thursday.

He said that the solution was not to revoke some of the policies in the sector but to see how to address the failures arising from implementation of those policies.

Cue in audio 1

“If we look at the particular situation of Aviation industry, it is either we have new entrance who come into the market and change the dynamics.

“If we are not having private investors then the government should play facilitatory role so you can have a different models of having a national carrier.

“You can have a Public Private Partnership (PPP), where government have some stake, possibly a minority where private sector owns the majority stake.

“The government is totally off the management of it. Government simply receives its own share of the profit at the end of the day. That could work.

“The bottom line for me is that we need some kind of serious intervention in the aviation industry.

“That kind of intervention is not able; the existing players are not able to meet the demand in the market efficiently the way it ought to be.

“I am sure most of us have suffered delay, cancelled flights and shamble services. I think we need some shocks in that industry.

Cue out audio 1

Ugbajah said there was a limit to what can be done by regulators to operators in the aviation sector, noting it would be applicable in the power sector.

Cue in audio 2

“The operators are complaining of the debt burden money owned them by the Federal Government.

“They are complaining about vandalism – they are complaining about the vandalism of their own distribution equipment and the GENCO are complaining of the gas pipelines.

“Within this scenario, a regulator becomes helpless. This is a security challenge. What I am trying to drive at is that externalities in the market could make it very difficult for a regulator to operate.

“If you want to regulate consumers protection in aviation sector, flights are supposed to leave as at when due.

“If they don’t leave, they are supposed to do ABC but what about if flights want to leave and there is not aviation fuel for the flight.

“It goes beyond the mandate of what a regulator can do because those are dysfunctions in the particular market.’’

Cue out audio 2

The official, however, said that the approach should be toward solving those failures in the market first before applying sanctions.

He said that operators could be sanctioned when its operation remained a threat to the country.

“I don’t think it is possible to regulate without looking at the particular challenges that are faced by businesses in that sector,’’ Ugbajah said.