By Louis Iba
More passengers were left stranded at several Nigerian airports yesterday (Tuesday) as domestic airline operators cancelled almost 60 per cent of scheduled commercial flights owing to worsening supplies of aviation fuel (Jet A1) to the industry.
The ongoing scarcity has been described as the worst in the industry’s recent history with marketers openly confessing that they had run out of stocks at their depots. Airline operators fear that if the trend is allowed to linger longer than this week, the airline industry would have no other option than to shut down completely.
Daily Sun, however, learnt that top officials of the Federal Ministry of Aviation, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and airline owners have been holding series of meetings in the last two days to ensure speedy supplies of fuel to save the local airline industry from imminent collapse.
Spokesman for the NCAA, Mr. Sam Adurogboye, told Daily Sun that top on the government’s priority was how to commence the refining of aviation fuel or Jet A1 in one of Nigeria’s refineries.
“What I can tell you is that the government and other stakeholders are working very hard right now to see how they can start refining aviation fuel as soon as possible in Nigeria,” said Adurogboye.
“Why this is most important is that the problem we are battling right now is the scarcity or high cost of foreign exchange to make available for marketers to import the product. And the only way to solve that problem is to refine locally as soon as possible,” he added.
Daily Sun investigations reveal that the Lagos to Abuja, Lagos to Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt to Abuja, as well as several flights from Lagos to Kano, Kaduna and Jos were cancelled.
A spokesman for one of the local airlines who would not want to be named said about 60 per cent of scheduled flights had been cancelled. Such heavy flight disruptions, he said, would have seen the airlines losing “nothing less than N300 million daily in revenue. Air travelling in Nigeria is on the brink of collapse as 60 per cent of commercial flights are now cancelled because there is no fuel to fly,” the official added.
Three airlines, Arik Air, Dana Air and Air Peace have separately addressed the media explaining how they are grappling with flight schedule disruptions due to the severe scarcity of aviation fuel across the country.
“For the past week, the airline had to face another round of aviation fuel scarcity, which got worse over this weekend leading to many flight delays and cancellations,” said Arik Air spokesman, Banji Ola.
“At the root of the fuel supply crisis is low stock due to the inability of marketers to source needed foreign exchange to import more Jet A1 fuel into the country and this has forced the airline to postpone flights while waiting for the fuel marketers to source and deliver the product.
“On many occasions, despite all efforts in engaging the marketers if fuel could not be sourced, the flights may eventually be cancelled causing not only revenue loss for the airline but also inconveniencing stranded the passengers,” Ola said yesterday.
Nigeria imported 1.7m cars in 3 years –NADDC
By Perpetua Egesimba
Director, Policy and Planning, National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Mr. Luqman Mamudu, has said that Nigeria in 2013 imported 344,036 cars in 2014, 916,367 cars and 436,129 cars in 2015, all ranging from tractors, buses and vans, cars and SUVs, dumpers loaders and special purposes.
Luqman, who stated this during the Automotive Components Manufacturers Association (ACMA) of India Exhibition in Nigeria recently at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos, said the Nigeria automotive industry emerged around 1960 with very basic assembly operations of imported automotive kits by private multinational companies.
He said that in 1993, the Nigerian government, desirous to develop the industry because of its positive multiple effect on the economy, launched an automotive policy and established the National Automotive Council (NAC), now the NADDC.
According to him, National Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP) is a plan of action aimed at revitalising and developing the Nigerian automotive industry to a level that it becomes self-sustaining with five main pillars or elements, including fiscal measures for protection and incentives, development of infrastructure, market development, manpower and skills development, and standards.
He said the market for components and parts is in excess of two billion annually and the bulk of it is for the replacement market, adding that this would grow as local assembly volume gains critical mass to attract global manufacturers to set up plants in Nigeria.
“The local components and parts industry in Nigeria may have collapsed but it remains available to partner with companies with resources, including members of ACMA of India.” NADDC, he said, is partnering the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) to evaluate the sector and submit a plan to resuscitate and grow the automotive components and parts industry in the country.
He said the ACMA of India should note the existing and potential capacity of Nigeria automotive industry and the opportunity it presents for manufacturing outpost. “It is recognised that for now, it will seek out buyers for it’s products manufactured in India but it should work closely with NADDC to fast track the process to manufacturing.”
He encouraged Nigerians to patronise ACMA members to avoid fake products, urging ACMA members to partner Nigerians as there will soon be emphasis on local content in the Nigeria.