By Musa Adamu
Abuja
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, and his counterpart in the Aviation Ministry, Senator Hadi Sirika, have pledged to work together to eliminate the noticeable challenge faced by airline operators in accessing aviation fuel for their daily operations.
Speaking while receiving the Minister of State for Aviation and his team of Directors during a visit to the NNPC Towers, in Abuja, Dr. Kachikwu said though the supply and distribution of JET A1 was outside the control of the government because it had been deregulated, a meeting of importers of aviation fuel would soon be convened to address all challenges impeding the seamless supply of the product.
Dr. Kachikwu who also doubles as the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) noted that though the refineries were not producing aviation fuel for now efforts would be made in due course to provide the enablers which would ensure local production in the near future.
He said: “The immediate action point for now is to meet with all the importers of aviation fuel, we want to understand the consumption pattern and also look at their cost to ensure that they are not profiteering excessively.”
In his remarks, Senator Sirika noted that the need to ensure availability of JET A1 fuel had become imperative considering the fact that the product accounts for about 45 percent of the total cost of operation.
