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Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, made the recommendation yesterday in Abuja during a stakeholders’ engagement on the Fly Nigeria Act and related legislation hosted by the Ministry.
Olisah Agbakoba created the bill for an Act, which is still in draft form. If passed, the measure will require government-funded air transportation for all government officials, contractors, grantees, and properties to be transported by Nigerian flag carriers.
The minister said that the plan was made in 2019 and expressed surprise that it has yet to be implemented.
He stated, “If the Cabotage Act can be passed in favor of Nigerian ship owners, why not for aviation?”
“That means there are certain external cabals in the aviation industry that seek to destroy the indigenous market so they can feed on that market.
“It is a global conspiracy, and you have to be smart to see it. If you look at the entire African continent, all the foreign airlines in the world feed on the African market without fair competition from African airlines, and they will ensure the African aviation market remains stunted so that they can keep feeding on it.
and they will ensure the African aviation market remains stunted so that they can keep feeding on it.
“But it’s important we develop our own to compete fairly. So, there is a global conspiracy in the aviation sector all over the world, and it’s such that they don’t want local airlines to grow so they can keep feeding on it.
“It is for us to wise up and come up with policies that will then empower our own local operators to put them on the negotiation table.”
This proposed Act is the latest in a series of initiatives aimed at empowering indigenous operators, with more plans still to come.
The summary of the Fly Nigeria Act is to ensure that every government-funded trip patronises a Nigerian flag carrier flying that route, whether locally, regionally, continentally, or abroad. A Nigerian air carrier must be patronised first.
Speaking on the Hajj operations, Keyamo said half of the airlines that operate Hajj are foreign airlines. With this bill, they would ensure indigenous airlines get most of the routes.
He disclosed plans to set up a technical working committee to look into the bill within two weeks and come up with a finalized document that would be sent to the Federal Executive Council. Once the President endorses it, it would be sent to the National Assembly for passage into law.
The Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, in his remarks, commended the minister for his giant strides in the aviation sector, saying the players have never had it this good in his last 10 years of flight operations.
He said, “In the past, the government did not help them increase their capacity, but the current government has made efforts not only to increase their capacity but to develop routes and create markets for them.”
The Chairman of United Nigeria, while also affirming the position of the Air Peace boss, said the industry has witnessed a tremendous transformation in the past 12 months, adding that the ease of doing business in the aviation sector has never been this good.
He challenged any airline operator with a contrary opinion to come up with strong evidence.
