Abuja in talks on releasing funds withheld because of forex scarcity
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Abuja says it is working on releasing the $464 million ticket sales revenue it hijacked from foreign airlines, an embarrassment over which Emirates Airlines has served notice to quit Nigeria.
Turkish Airlines last week began demanding dollars from ticket buyers in Nigeria just as Emirates announced suspension of Nigerian flights from 1 September because of its trapped $85 million.
Emirates said it is stopping flights to and from Nigeria to cut its losses and reduce their impact on mounting operational costs in the Nigerian market.
Other foreign airlines are planning to deplane Nigeria for withholding their funds.
“The Federal Government is aware of the issue and action is being taken. I can assure you that relevant authorities are working on it. Very soon the matter will be resolved,” Information Minister Lai Mohammed said.
He made the disclosure during his tour of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos on Monday.
The International Air Transportation Association (IATA) tweeted on 19 August that foreign airlines’ revenue withheld from repatriation from Nigeria rose from $450 million in May to $464 million in July, an increase of $14 million.
Abuja blames foreign exchange (forex) scarcity for its inability to release the funds but the airlines insist that makes it difficult to operate and invest in Nigeria.
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Averting more damage
IATA urged the government to prioritise the release of the funds to avert more damage that will reduce foreign flights to and from Africa’s largest economy
“IATA is disappointed that the amount of airline money blocked from repatriation by the Nigerian government grew to $464 million in July.
“IATA’s many warnings that failure to restore timely repatriation will hurt Nigeria with reduced air connectivity are proving true with the withdrawal of Emirates from the market,” IATA said in the tweet, per Nairametrics.
“Airlines can’t be expected to fly if they can’t realise revenue from ticket sales. Loss of connectivity harms the economy, hurts investor confidence, impacts jobs and people’s lives.
“The government of Nigeria needs to prioritise the release funds before more damage is done.”