House of Representatives has on Monday secured the cooperation of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to make available six million litres of JetA1 (aviation fuel) to aviation fuel marketers chosen by Airlines Operators of Nigeria (AON).
The deal was struck at a meeting with AON representatives at the National Assembly.
Read Also: Just In: Airline Operators Of Nigeria Suspends Planned Shutdown Of Flight Operations
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 (MDPRA), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigerian Airspace Management Authority (NAMA), among others.
The aviation fuel will be sold at the rate of N480 per litre to airline operators for the next three months to avert further breakdown of operations in the aviation industry.
This development might see the President Muhammadu Buhari administration spending N1.3 billion on subsidising aviation fuel price seen to have risen from N190 to N700 per litre.
Making the disclosure in a statement issued after a meeting with Airline Operators of Nigeria, NNPC and the Central Bank of Nigeria on Monday, the House asked marketers to apply for licences to import aviation fuel so as to bypass middlemen.
Read Also: Domestic Airlines To Shut Down Operations On Monday Over Fuel Price Hike
Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, was quoted to have said;
As part of the resolutions, it was also agreed that as a long-term solution, the airline operators must commence the process of securing a licence for the importation of aviation fuel to avoid suspicion over the landing cost of the product and other associated logistic issues.
The House in its resolution also tasked NNPC and the apex bank to provide the needed assistance, and asked airline operators to name marketers of their choice to supply them with aviation fuel over the next three months.
Recall that AON had threatened to shutdown local airline services on Monday but withdrew the threat on Sunday under pressure from the Federal Government.
The airline operators say rising cost of key inputs such as aviation fuel necessitated the intended shutdown.
