Obiora Okonkwo insisted that the price of aviation fuel per litre should not go as high as it was currently being sold.
By Eugene Onyeji
The airline operators, under the aegis of Airline Operators of Nigeria, are currently at loggerheads with oil marketers over the rising prices of JET-A1, also known as aviation fuel.
While Oil marketers under the aegis of Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) have defended the price, which is as high as N600 per litre.
The entire situation has led to increases in airfares. The state oil firm, NNPC Ltd., had intervened by importing two cargoes of the product and selling at lower prices to cushion the effect of high operational costs on airlines, after they threatened to shut down.
The Chairman, United Nigeria Airlines and Spokesperson of Airline Operators of Nigeria, Obiora Okonkwo, said during an interview that the current price was too high, accusing marketers of exploitation.
Obiora Okonkwo insisted that the price of aviation fuel per litre should not go as high as it was currently being sold.
Accordig to him, “For a country like Nigeria that currently does not have internal production, this fuel is a deregulated product, and the supply comes from outside Nigeria and it is also being determined by the oil market internationally. So, oil prices jumping from $60-$70 to $110-$120 expectedly should affect the price. With that, we don’t have any problem. We are not holding the government accountable for anything.
“This is not the issue. We know that these prices have international influence. It is also a very transparent market, whereby you will know using the pricing formula based on the existing oil price internationally at that moment. However, we know if that is applied vis-a-vis the pump price of getting this Jet A1 in Nigeria, there is something wrong. That is the issue.”
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The state oil company had sold the two cargoes it brought in a few weeks ago at N432.6/litre and N462/litre respectively, while marketers sold to operators at N540/litre.
In a bid to cushion the effects of the scarcity and high price, the House of Reps said it had entered into an agreement with Oyebanji who, a few weeks ago, had six million litres in his tank.
Oyebanji, in an interview , said he had offered to help by bringing down the cost, selling to airlines at N480/litre. However, prices soon shot up after his six million stock got exhausted.
Using the current CBN rate of N415.62, the current price should sit at about N412/litre at the international market.
As of Monday, the product was sold in Lagos at N598 per litre, N642 in Kano, N640 in Kaduna, N627 in Abuja, N635 in Enugu and Anambra and N628 in Port Harcourt.
On his part, the Executive Secretary of MOMAN, Clement Isong, advised Nigerians to ‘adjust’ to current market trends as the crises were not peculiar to the country.
“Nigerians should understand that there is a situation in the world and we must adjust and sort out ourselves. Government cannot do everything for us. Currently, the government does not have money to sort out the education sector, health, agriculture and other sectors. ASSU is currently on strike, and the government can’t do anything about it,” he said.
