To ensure the safety of air travelers, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) may shut down the airspace if urgent steps are not taken to address the situation in the aviation industry, the agency’s Director-General Capt. Musa Nuhu told the House of Representatives yesterday.
The NCAA boss spoke on a day the Green Chamber directs the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Price Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to do everything possible to dismantle the cartel growing in the industry.
The lawmakers decried the hike of aviation fuel price from N190 to N670 per litre and the non-availability of the product for airline operators.
But the Executive Director in charge of Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure at NMDPRA, Mr. Ogbogu Ukoha, insisted that there was enough Jet A1 that can last for 34 days.
They spoke at a meeting between the leadership of the House, led by Deputy Speaker Ahmed Idris Wase over the currently scarcity of Jet A1.
Capt. Nuhu, who expressed surprise at the sudden hike in Jet A1 price, said the safety of passengers was key to his mandate, pointing out that with the way things are going currently, he may be forced to shut down some airline and by extension, the airspace to ensure safety.
He said: “I don’t want to appear before any committee either here in the House or in the Senate to explain what happened to airline ABCD. So, we must do something fast to address this situation so that things we not get out of hand.”
According to him, flights were being delayed or cancelled as a result of the supposed scarcity of aviation fuel and the sudden increase in prices which he said, has been happening on a daily basis.
He said rising operation cost might force the airlines to close shops, a development that would adversely affect the economy.
But the NMDPRA executive told his audience that aviation fuel was one of the petroleum products fully deregulated and therefore controlled by market forces.
Pointing out that the Authority has issued licenses to about 28 companies to import the product, he said: “From our records, we have enough supplies to last us for 34 days plus. So, when we hear about scarcity, all we can say is that we have enough supplies.”
Not impressed by the explanation, Wase demanded explanation on the scarcity of the product if there was enough supply to last for 34 days.
The deputy speaker concluded: “Then, there must be a cartel working so hard to sabotage the efforts of the government.
“This is a political era and elections are coming. We do not want anybody to sabotage the efforts that the government has put into revamping the economy so far because aviation is very important to the economy.”
Air Peace Chairman Allen Onyeama, who spoke on behalf of the airline operators, said they have held back from shutting down the industry because of likely impact on the economy.
He said: “It is because of this statement that you made now about being in a political era that we have not shut down. We do not want anybody to use us to blackmail the government who has done so much for the industry.
“Our DG has said it succinctly that safety is of concern in this industry. He also spoke about the cost of operation and let me say that fuel takes about 30 percent across the world, but in Nigeria, fuel takes about 70 percent of our operation.
“What happened in the last two weeks in alarming. From a price of N190 per litre two weeks ago, the price is now N670 as at today and we don’t know what it is going to be mater. The government has done so much for us in this industry with the President granting us waivers.
“We held a meeting and decided to shut down our operations because of the cost of operation. We are owing so much money and we don’t want AMCON to come after us. But we decided not to because we know the impact it will have on the economy.”
