Temporary Respite As NNPC Agrees To Supply Aviation Fuel To Airline Operators
There seems to be a temporary respite for air passengers following the agreement by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) to supply six million litres of aviation fuel otherwise known as JetA1 to the fuel marketers chosen by the Airline Operators Association of Nigeria (AOAN)
This is in addition to the resolve to grant AOAN a licence to import aviation fuel in measures to avoid the controversy of landing cost
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The respite may however be threatened by the lingering forex crisis which may affect the availability of dollars for the importation of aviation fuel when the import licence is finally granted to AOAN.
“We will make appropriate allocations to the three marketers chosen by the operators and the other,” assured the NNPC GMD, Mele Kyari, on the three months supply of Jet A1 to the chosen marketers by the AOAN.
He however emphasised that the price of the product cannot be guaranteed because it is globally market-driven.
NNPC gave the commitment at the Monday meeting between the leadership of the House of Representatives, the Airlines Operators Association of Nigeria (AOAN) and other key government institutions over the threat to shut down flight operations across the country.
NNPC’s resolve to supply aviation fuel is a follow-up to certain resolutions at the previous meeting that included the sale of aviation fuel at N500 per litre and the granting of aviation fuel import licenses to the operators.
The leadership of the House also inquired from the NNPC about the status of the 25,000 tons of ATK approved for the airlines as a palliative in addition to the availability of the product to the airlines for about three months. This is in addition to having functional refineries to address some of the challenges. as well as the status of the renovation projects at the four nation’s refineries.
At the meeting that lasted over three hours at the National Assembly with the House leadership led by Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, the participants also agreed that as a long term solution, the airline operators must commence, as soon as possible, the process of securing a license for the importation of aviation fuel to avoid suspicion over the landing cost of the product and other associated logistic issues.
The Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority was also mandated to, as much as possible, grant waivers that do not touch on the security and safety of the country for importers of the products.
On his part, the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele noted that though the apex bank has no control over the flow of the dollar, he however assured that no operator would be denied facilities by the banks as long as they are creditworthy.
While appreciating all the stakeholders for the efforts put in at resolving the issue at stake, the Speaker said, “Rounding up on a positive note, I appreciate the airline operators for being nationalistic in calling off the strike as I hope that the outcome of this meeting will usher in a lasting solution to these challenges of Jet A1 bearing in mind that there is a laissez-faire economy of demand and supply”.
Stakeholders present at the meeting included the representatives of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Ministry of Aviation, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), NNPC, Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigerian Airspace Management Authority (NAMA) as well as the AOAN, among others.
The meeting took off on a rocky note with Speaker Gbajabiamila warning that it was incumbent on the Chief Executive of agencies of government and the private sector to honour the invitation of the House on issues of national importance.
This happened after the representative of the governor of CBN was asked to excuse himself from the meeting by the Speaker, who emphasised that the importance and sensitivity of the meeting required the presence of the CBN governor due to the importance of the issues at stake.
The CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, who eventually walked into the meeting about 15 minutes later, gave reasons why he had to be represented before his eventual arrival.
In his remarks, Speaker Gbajabiamila said the nation was at a crucial moment as the shutdown by the airline operators amounts to a potential shutting down of the country. “We cannot sit here and watch this happen.
“That is why the presence of the CBN governor is very important because his role is very critical to the resolution of this issue”
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