By Naomi Douglas
Nigeria’s House of Representatives has secured the cooperation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC Ltd to make available six million litres of JetA1 (aviation fuel) to aviation fuel marketers chosen by the Airlines Operators of Nigeria, AON.
The deal was struck at a meeting with AON representatives at the National Assembly.
Stakeholders in attendance included the representatives of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Ministry of Aviation, Central Bank of Nigeria, NNPC, Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Nigerian Airspace Management Authority, among others.
Part of the resolutions reached at Monday’s meeting, which lasted for over three hours, include that, as a long term solution, the airline operators must commence 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.
Similarly, 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.
It would be recalled that the AON had threatened to shut down local airline services on Monday but withdrew the threat on Sunday after the Federal Government intervened.
The airline operators say rising cost of key inputs such as aviation fuel necessitated the intended shutdown.
