MAN Seek Oil Import License To Avert Real, Aviation Sectors’ Collapse
Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has sought licences from the federal government to import diesel and aviation fuel directly for its members’ operations.
MAN said the request is to avert the collapse of the manufacturing and aviation industries in the country.
The country has battled an energy crisis and its industrial and other sectors are stifled by the shortage of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) and JET A1 nationwide.
Recently, the aviation sector threaten to shut down operations over the shortage of Jet A1.
The longest-serving airline, Aero contractors just shut down operation over a myriad of challenges including scarcity of aviation fuel.
The association warned the government that more airlines may follow suit owing to the scarcity of JET A1 in the aviation industry, saying MAN was bitter with the sudden announcement of flight operations suspension by Aero airlines, after 63 years in operations, due to aviation fuel and other aviation challenges.
The Director-General of MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir in an interview with our correspondent in Lagos said that the hierarchy of MAN was planning to visit President Muhammadu Buhari to discuss solutions to the lingering increase in the prices of AGO and JET A1 in the country.
The price of diesel has shot up from over N200 to N800 since April and there is no end in sight for it to recede.
Ajayi-Kadir explained that presidential intervention was needed to save the two key sectors of the economy from total collapse because of the energy crisis confronting many local manufacturing companies and the airlines operators.
According to him, no government would sit on the fence and watches the two critical sectairlineconomy collapse over skyrocketing prices of diesel and aviation fuel.
The director general stated that with the ongoing war in Ukraine and its disruptions on energy supply and distribution value chains, there was need for government to allow manufacturers and independent petroleum products marketing companies to also import AGO from the Republic of Niger and Chad by immediately opening up border posts in that axis in order to cushion the effect of the supply gap.
Ajayi-Kadir asked the government to remove Value Added Tax (VAT) on AGO as an instant stimulus for a price reduction and expedite action in reactivating or privatising the petroleum products refineries in the country.
The renowned industrialist pointy ted out that much local al manufacprice reductioncarious situation at the moment with looming dangers ahead in the country’s manufacturing sector over unstable energy supply crises in the downstream sector of the country’s petroleum industry.
He said: “Government should as a matter of priority develop a National Response and Sustainability Strategy to address challenges emanating from the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
“Government should continue to support manufacturing to accelerate the process of recovery from the aftermath of COVID-19 and previous bouts of recession to avert the complete shutdown of factories nationwide with multiplier effect on the employment.
Again, government should issue licenses to manufacturing concerns and operators in the aviation industry to import diesel and aviation fuel direct try to avert the avoidable monumental paralyse sis of manufacturing activities arising from the total shut down of production operations and movement of persons for business activities.
“As a matter of urgency, government should address the challenge of frequent collapse of the national grid (twice within a week), which is causing acute electricity shortage in the country, especially for the manufacturers.
the Government should restrict the export of maize, cassava, wheat, food related products and other manufacturing inputs available in the country and also, grant concessional forex allocation at the official rate to manufacturers for importationfood-related inputs that are not locally available.”
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