FG Vows To Halt Aviation Fuel Scarcity Soon

The Federal Government has pledged to intervene in the crisis rocking the aviation sector, occasioned by scarcity of aviation fuel, otherwise called Jet-A1.

The government, through the Minister of State for Aviation, is to avail foreign exchange at the market rate of N285 to a dollar, to facilitate importation of aviation fuel by marketers.

Meanwhile, the scarcity persisted in major airports around the country, yesterday, causing passengers to be stranded, as operators continued to delay and reschedule flight services. Also, oil marketers responsible for importation and supply of aviation fuel have blamed the high cost of purchasing the dollar as cause of the current scarcity.

According to the Executive Secretary of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Obafemi Olawole, the current rate of N320-plus to a dollar, which banks are offering oil marketers, discourage importers from bringing in the commodity. With storage facilities almost dried up, scarcity was inevitable.

A source said the government agreed to obtain foreign exchange through the International Oil Companies (IOC), which will give dollars to banks, to sell to the importers at N285.

“That is the immediate measure being made, and the marketers have agreed to import aviation fuel. So, the current scarcity will vanish in a matter of days,” the source revealed.

The scarcity, coupled with weather concerns, accounted for several delays at the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) and Murtala Muhammed Airport II (MMA2), Lagos.

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) reiterated that both fuel scarcity and bad weather are two critical issues that are beyond the operators, and are bound to hinder flight services.