The House of Representatives on Thursday ordered the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to look into the scarcity of Jet-A1, otherwise known as aviation fuel and ensure its availability to airline operators.
The directive was given at a meeting at the National Assembly between the leadership of the House led by the Deputy Speaker, Rep. Idris Wase, alongside the members of the committee on aviation and the Group Managing Director (GMD), of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mr Mele Kyari, Director-General Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Musa Shuaibu, and NMDPRA.
The House said it would not entertain any excuses until the price of the aviation fuel is crashed and the product is available in the airlines.
The meeting was convened sequel to a motion passed by the House on the need to investigate the sudden and high cost of aviation fuel, which has created an existential threat to airline operations, sponsored by the chairman House Committee on Aviation, Rep Nnolim Nnaji.
Also in attendance were the Leader of the House, Rep Alhassan Ado Doguwa; Chief Whip, Rep Mohammed Tahir Monguno; Deputy Leader, Rep Peter Akpatason; the chairman of the committee, Rep Nnaji and the chairman Committee on Water Resources, Rep Sada Soli, among others.
Speaking during the meeting, the Deputy Speaker wondered why despite the scarcity of the product, airliners were asked to pay upfront for the product, which he said made the price of aviation fuel rise over a hundred per cent.
He said the House as representatives of the people would not fold its hands and watch Nigerians suffer.
“Our responsibility is to improve on the welfare of our constituents,” Wase said.
Speaking earlier, the Director-General of NCAA, Musa Shuaibu, described the increase as a significant concern not only for the inconvenience caused in terms of flight delays and cancellations but also the safety concern of passengers.
According to him, “if airlines can not have enough financial margin to comply with all mandatory requirements and considering the cost of air ticket now and coupled with the increase, the airlines cannot survive.”
He stated that the NCAA would cooperate with the House by supporting any interventions that would improve the supply of the product to address the general concerns raised.
On his part, the Executive Director, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr Ukoha O. said the agency’s role is to license every dealer of the product.
He said the agency has so far licenced 28 marketers who are bringing the product into the country in the last 3 months, noting that the license lasts for 90 days.
He confirmed that from their record, as of Thursday, they had about 34 days of the sufficiency of the product.
He dismissed the insinuations that the product is scarce, saying there is enough volume to go round both onshore and offshore for 34 days.