Worried by the rising cost of aviation fuel in the country, President Olusegun Obasanjo has directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Coporation (NNPC) to supply the product directly to the nation’s airports through pipelines.
Airline operators, groaning under the increasing cost of aviation fuel, had at the weekend announced an upward review in air fares on local routes which would see a 20 per cent hike.
The increase came after the price of JET A-I fuel rose from N61 to N80 in the past few weeks.
The Minister of Aviation, Prof. Babalola Borishade, said that Obasanjo had charged the NNPC to work toward direct supplies to the airports instead of loading elsewhere which raised the cost of operations.
“We’re worried that our aviation fuel is the most expensive in the world and we have been trying to find out why this is so,” Borishade said, noting that direct supplies would reduce costs.
He also said that the government was removing laws and policies which were stifling airline operators, explaining that, for instance, the 51 per cent baseline for foreign investors willing to work with local airlines had been reviewed.
“Now they can offer favourable conditions to their partners,” the minister said.
Borishade further said that the government has also given approval to Boeing to establish outlets in the country which airline operators could access to lease and maintain their planes rather than flying them out.
Borishade said that Nigeria being a signatory to the Yamoussokro– agreement, was using it to the benefit of local airlines to give them access to the discounted charges in the West African sub-region.
Apr82006