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Nigeria to address lack of forex facing domestic airlines

Xinhua, June 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Nigerian government on Monday assured operators of domestic airlines in the country of its determination to address their challenge of lack foreign exchange (FOREX).

Minister of State, Aviation, Hadi Sirika, gave the assurance when members of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) led by their chairman, Nogie Meggison visited him in Abuja, the nation's capital city.

Sirika said he had visited the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Ministry of Finance on the instruction of President Muhammadu Buhari with the view to resolving the issue.

He dismissed the allegation made by operators of domestic airlines that preference was being given to operators of foreign airlines in sourcing foreign exchange.

He promised that the government would create level playing field for all airline operators in the country, irrespective of their origin by ensuring that their plights were ameliorated.

On the issue of JET A1 known as aviation fuel, Sirika said the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had assured of its readiness to re-position the country's refineries to produce the product.

He said the issue of the price of fuel was beyond his purview, adding that availability of the product was his priority at the moment.

The minister said his ministry was discussing with the Ministry of Finance and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to ensure that waivers on aircraft and its parts were sustained.

Sirika said the federal government would review some of the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) it signed with different countries to ensure that they were beneficial to Nigeria. Endit