Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has agreed in principle to write off part of domestic airlines’ debts to aviation agencies after carriers threatened to halt operations over soaring jet fuel costs, aviation minister Festus Keyamo said.
Speaking to reporters in Abuja, Keyamo said Tinubu had requested a formal proposal immediately and would determine the scale of the debt relief, Reuters reported.
The move follows emergency talks with airlines, which warned that surging fuel prices had made continued operations unsustainable.
The government will also establish a committee to review taxes, levies, and fees on domestic tickets, with a mandate to recommend cuts to ease pressure on airlines and passengers, Keyama said.
Officials and fuel marketers are due to meet to address pricing disputes, according to oil ministry secretary Patience Oyekunle.
Airlines had threatened a nationwide shutdown from April 20 after Jet A1 prices jumped from about NGN900 naira (USD0.66) per litre in February to more than NGN3,300 (USD2.43) within weeks, a rise of over 300%. Operators later suspended the planned strike pending the outcome of talks.
Air Peace CEO Allen Onyema said the spike was disproportionate to global crude trends and warned airlines were "bleeding" and struggling to cover fuel costs without compromising safety, reported the newspaper Punch.
