Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), has explained the situation surrounding the scarcity of aviation fuel in the country, and the agreement with oil marketers to secure the product for N480 per litre.
In an interview, AON Spokesperson Prof. Obiora Okonkwo blamed the continuous scarcity of aviation fuel on the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
His words: Well, we are aware that since the war between Russia and Ukraine started, the markets all over the world have had some changes, with the hike in prices of fuel, diesel, Jet-A1, PMS. For a country like Nigeria, which currently does not have internal production, this fuel is a deregulated product, and the supply comes from outside Nigeria and it is also being determined by the oil market internationally.
“So, oil price jumping from $60/$70 to $110/$120 expectedly should affect the price. With that, we don’t have any problem. We know it is not the making of this government.
“We are not holding the government accountable for anything. We know that this government has been quite cooperative and has done a lot for this industry.
“So, this is not the issue. We know that these prices have international influence. It is also a very transparent market, whereby you will know using Platts, which is the pricing formula based on the existing oil price internationally at that moment.
“However, we know if that is applied vis-a-vis the pump price of getting this Jet A1 in Nigeria, there is something wrong. That is the issue.
“Of course, we know that this Jet-A1 is not only affected by the international market price of oil but also the exchange rate in Nigeria. We understand that this is a deregulated product and we are not asking for subsidy.
“We are all private entrepreneurs, and we understand the negative impact of subsidy in our economy. We also understand the battle the government is having about subsidy in other areas.
“But the point we are making here is that we want transparent pricing of this product. Also, we want to adopt a system where they could reduce middlemen who are just racketing.”
