Keyamo made this disclosure after a high-level meeting in Abuja convened to address the sharp rise in aviation fuel costs. He said President Bola Tinubu, who was briefed on the outcome, directed that a formal proposal be submitted for his immediate consideration. ‘The first request that he will consider and grant is a generous discount on the debts the airlines are owing the aviation agencies – NAMA, FAAN, NCAA, and so on,’ Keyamo said. ‘The percentage of discounts and all that, Mr President will decide.’
Tinubu is also expected to set up a committee to review the multiple taxes, levies, and charges imposed on domestic tickets, with a view to reducing the cost burden on passengers. The president will additionally meet airline operators directly to discuss broader issues around access to capital.
Airlines want more
Airline operators welcomed the government’s intervention but pushed for significantly more. Allen Onyema, chairman of Air Peace, said the proposed discounts did not go far enough, calling instead for a total waiver of all debts owed to aviation agencies and a suspension of further payments until the Strait of Hormuz is reopened.
Onyema described the financial pressure on airlines as severe, with operators forced to borrow money to sustain fuel purchases while struggling to maintain safety and maintenance standards. He also called on the government to address the punishing interest rates on aircraft financing in Nigeria, where airlines borrow at 30 to 35 per cent – compared to around 3 per cent in other jurisdictions. ‘This is killing,’ he said, urging the government to recapitalise the Bank of Industry, which he described as the only lender still offering relatively affordable rates to airlines.
The fuel price spike
At the heart of the crisis is a more than 300 per cent increase in the price of Jet A1 fuel, which has climbed from N900 per litre as of 28th February to N3,300 per litre. Onyema said the rise was disproportionate to global crude oil price movements and called for marketers to be held accountable. ‘Even Dangote is surprised, because what he is selling to us still remains the cheapest, and some of them lift from there,’ he said. ‘So why the astronomical rise?’
The Airline Operators of Nigeria had threatened to suspend operations from 20th April over the fuel costs but subsequently announced a temporary stand-down following appeals from the minister.