Business

Airline Owners Give Update On Threat To Shutdown Flight Operations

Published

4 years ago

March 18, 2022

Local airlines under the aegis of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) have suspended their threat to shut down flight operations over the outrageous hike in the price of Jet – A1 fuel.

The Vice President of AON, Mr Allen Onyema, disclosed this in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos.

Recall that on March 15, AON had threatened to shut down their operations on Friday, March 18, if the government could not find a lasting solution for the marketers to reduce the JET-A1 price.

Onyema, the Chairman of Air Peace, told NAN that airlines collectively agreed to suspend the shutdown to avert further disruption in economic activities considering the key role air transportation plays in the logistic mix.

“We are not going to shut down flight operations because discussions are ongoing between us and the relevant players in the oil and gas value chain to find a lasting solution to the problem.

“We are negatively affected by the increasing price of aviation fuel, but as patriotic investors, we will not take any action that will paralyse the economy.

“As patriotic Nigerians and investors, we will continue to engage government and its agencies on the way out of this problem,” he said.

Onyema noted that the decision taken by the local carriers was a patriotic contribution to President Muhamadu Buhari’s led administration.

According to him, the administration is presently utilising every instrument by engaging stakeholders in the oil and gas and air transportation sectors to seek a permanent solution to the price hike.

The Air Peace chairman recalled that the Buhari-led administration had contributed immensely to the development of airlines operations in the country.

“Since the Buhari administration came on board, it has shown sufficient commitment to improving the aviation industry.

“The President signed an Executive Order that granted waivers on aircraft and its spares and other interventions, the least we could do is to continue to engage until challenges in the sector are resolved,” Onyema said.

He said the association considered very delicate the precarious situation of aviation fuel scarcity and increment in price as a development that could be exploited for political capital by players in the governance space.

Onyema, however, said the price hike was suffocating for local carriers to continue to operate flights under increasing costs regime, as they spend millions of naira to fill an aircraft with aviation fuel.

He said airline operators were presently considering scaling down on the number of flight frequencies to minimise the cost of operations.

Onyema said local carriers were not considering any further increase in airfares so as not to shut out ordinary Nigerians who desire to travel by air.

A NAN correspondent who monitored activities at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal II (MMA2) and General Aviation Terminal (GAT) terminals, reports that airlines are working and passengers are also boarding.

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Business

Naira Records Second Consecutive Depreciation Against US Dollar

Published

3 days ago

November 12, 2025

Editor

The Naira recorded its second consecutive depreciation against the United States dollar at the foreign exchange market on Tuesday to continue the bearish trend this week.

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s data showed that the Naira further weakened on Tuesday to N1,438.71 against the dollar, down from N1,437.2933 exchanged on Monday.

This means that the Naira again dropped by N1.42 against the dollar on Tuesday on a day-to-day basis.

At the black market, the Naira remained flat at N1465 per dollar on Tuesday, the same rate traded on Monday.

This is the second consecutive decline of Nigerian currency at the official market since the commencement of this week.

Meanwhile, the country’s external reserves had continued to rise, standing at $43.37 billion as of Monday, 10th November 2025, up from $43.35 billion on November 7.

Business

Tinubu Approves 15% Import Duty On Petrol, Diesel

Published

2 weeks ago

October 30, 2025

Editor

President Bola Tinubu has approved a 15 percent ad-valorem import duty on diesel and premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol.

This was announced in a letter dated October 21, 2025, where the private secretary to the president, Damilotun Aderemi, conveyed Tinubu’s approval to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

Tinubu gave his approval, following a request by the FIRS to apply the 15 percent duty on the cost, insurance and freight (CIF) to align import costs to domestic realities.

With the approval, the implementation of the import duty will increase a litre of petrol by an estimated N99.72 kobo.

The latest development has led to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) announcing that it has begun a detailed review of the country’s three petroleum refineries, with a view to bringing them back online.

NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Bayo Ojulari, made the announcement in a post on his official X handle on Wednesday night.

According to Ojulari, one of the options being explored by the NNPCL is to search for technical equity partners to ‘high-grade or repurpose’ the facilities.

Tagged: “Update on Our Refineries”, Ojulari said: “The NNPCL continues to remain optimistic that the refineries will operate efficiently, despite current setbacks.”

It can be recalled that despite spending about $3 billion on revamping the refineries, only the 60,000 barrels per day portion of the facility worked skeletally for just a few months before packing up.

The Warri refinery has remained ineffective weeks after it was gleefully announced to have returned to production, while the one situated in Kaduna State never took off at all.

Business

NNPCL Raises Fuel Price

Published

1 month ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has increased the pump price of petrol from ₦865 to ₦992 per litre, marking a fresh hike that has sparked widespread concern among motorists and consumers .

As of the time of filing this report, the company has not released any official statement explaining the reason for the sudden adjustment.

During visits to several NNPC retail outlets, The Nation observed fuel attendants recalibrating their pumps to reflect the new price.

At NNPC filling station on Ogunusi road, Ojodu Berger, petrol attendants at the station said they were instructed to change the price to reflect the new rate N992 per litre.

However, checks at Ibafo along the Lagos /Ibadan expressway showed that NNPC outlets still displayed the old price of N875 per litre, although they were not selling to commuters.

Most of the NNPC stations were not dispensing fuel.