The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) have expressed concern about the high cost of operation, heightened by the recent increase in the naira-to-dollar exchange rate.

According to AON, people no longer travel for weddings and other events because they would prefer to send money to the event hosts since they cannot afford the outrageous ticket fees.

The professional association of domestic airlines in the country laments that the aviation fuel price hike has now made it challenging for airlines to conduct scheduled maintenance on their aircraft.

The operators highlighted that this situation poses a significant threat to their existence, as grounded aircraft cannot be transported overseas due to the scarcity of foreign exchange.

They have also warned that if this trend continues, there may not be enough operational aircraft for domestic services.

In a statement issued on Friday by its spokesperson, Professor Obiora Okonkwo, AON emphasized the urgent need for government intervention to prevent the potential collapse of many airlines, with the government ultimately being responsible for their demise.

The airlines expressed their concerns regarding the lack of stability in foreign exchange rates and the significant increase in the price of aviation fuel, which now stands at N1,300 per litre.

These factors have greatly impacted their ability to plan effectively and have created a sense of uncertainty and instability in their operations.

Okonkwo, who serves as the Chairman of United Nigeria Airlines, further elaborated on the issue, highlighting that passengers who had purchased tickets in advance for flights in 2023, when aviation fuel was priced at N700 per litre and the exchange rate was N800/$1, are now being airlifted at the current price of N1,300 per litre and an exchange rate of N1400/$1.

As a result, the airlines are facing substantial losses on these tickets, he observed.

“We are making losses on factors that are beyond our control. We are not only faced with the problem of scarcity of dollars; even the aviation ecosystem is feeling the heat. Handling companies have increased the cost of their services, airports have increased their charges and those that service the aircraft have also increased the cost of their services. The monies for these payments are coming from the passengers who are already exhausted financially,” Daily Trust quoted Okonkwo saying.

Okonkwo stated that numerous businesses in Nigeria are experiencing low profitability. As a result, the entrepreneurs who are crucial for passenger travel during both peak and off-peak seasons have ceased their journeys.

Additionally, he mentioned that the number of individuals travelling for tourism and social purposes is insufficient to ensure airlines maintain a satisfactory load factor and sustain their operations during the current low season.

The statement added: “Passenger traffic has shrunk because even those on social engagement like weddings, burials and other ceremonies may not be inclined to spend money on flight tickets; they would rather send credit alerts to those hosting the events who would appreciate such gestures. So, they pay instead of appearing in person.

“Air travel is a catalyst to economic development. There should have been government engagement with airlines at different levels. Airlines do not have special forex allocation, so they buy at the same place traders who trade in Brazilian hair, textiles, and others buy.

“Our passion to remain in this business is being eroded. We are at the point of oxygen supply. Some airlines are going into a coma. Our equipment is diminishing. The minimal revenues we earn to keep the airlines flying, we convert to pay our lessors.

“It is impossible to bring in more aircraft. Aircraft owners have become sceptical because of country risk. A Nigerian airline may meet its terms and all the standard criteria, but the aircraft owners consider country risk above other factors. Country risk supersedes everything, and lessors have their own obligations. So, there is nothing personal. Some airlines deposited money with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) but they cannot provide us the needed dollars.”

Northern group, Arewa Initiative for the Defense and Promotion of Democracy (AIDPD), has asked Nigerians not to blame President Bola Tinubu for the current pains and hardship across the country.

The National Chairman of the group, Shehu Abdullahi Ma’aji, stated this in a communique issued to journalists at a media briefing in Abuja on Thursday.

Ma’aji said certain politicians and clerics from the North have been in a hurry to dismiss the Tinubu administration as a failure just a few months into its assumption of office.

He urged politicians from the region to stop condemning the performance of the President but should blame the Muhammadu Buhari government for the economic hardship.

Ma’aji asserted that President Tinubu inherited enormous liabilities from its immediate predecessor, which will take time to fix.

He said: “Arising from our emergency meeting held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, to review the State of the Nation, we, members of pro-democracy groups from the 19 Northern States and the FCT, make the following observations and resolutions:

“To commend patriotic Northerners and indeed all Nigerians who are cooperating and supporting this government in its bid to provide solutions to the nation’s problems despite the incitement by some unscrupulous politicians who are bent on inciting the masses against the government.

“That the world economy is currently not in the best of shape due to the Russian-Ukrainian and the Israeli-Palestinian wars, etc. We observed that the Nigerian economy is not exempted from this global economic problem.

“The current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inherited a lot of problems from the past administration of Muhammadu Buhari, which it is currently trying to address. For instance, the Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) had just revealed that the crude oil the country will be getting in the next six months had been sold in advance by the immediate past administration.

“That the solutions to the problems cannot be instantly solved but in a gradual pattern.

“That Nigerians should show patriotism by cooperating with this administration in its bid to find solutions to the country’s problems such as inflation, corruption, insecurity – banditry and kidnapping that the country is currently facing.”

Ma’aji further alleged that some disgruntled politicians are plotting to organise phantom protests across the country to smear the image of this administration.

He added: “Those disgruntled politicians who are using some clerics through misinformation to issue statements condemning this administration without any good reason should desist forthwith in the interest of our beloved nation.

“We are not averse to any form of legitimate protest to show grievances to the government’s policy or programme, provided it is done in good faith and under the laws of our beloved country, Nigeria. We frown at the idea of sponsoring people to stage fake protests for the financiers to score cheap political mileage by discrediting the current administration.

“We call on all Northerners and indeed all Nigerians to continue to support the current administration in its bid to bring Prosperity to our nation.

“That we Northerners are not against Mr President and this administration. We will continue to support and pray for this administration to succeed.

“That the current administration is just eight months into office. It needs more time to deal with the problems it inherited. So we, the well-meaning Northerners, are praying and positively collaborating with the current administration for it to succeed.”

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has stated that there is no plan for an imminent increase in the cost of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) known as petrol.

A statement by Olufemi Soneye, the chief corporate communications officer of the company, cautioned motorists against panic-buying.

The statement read, “NNPC Ltd. urges Nigerians to disregard unfounded rumours and assures them that there are no plans for an upward review of the PMS price.
“Motorists nationwide are advised against engaging in panic buying, as there is presently ample availability of PMS across the country.”

It had been reported on Monday that there were long queues in some filling stations in Lagos while residents of the city expressed fears that there might be a fresh scarcity of the product.

The long queues were noticeable at filling stations along the Ikorodu Road and Total Filling Station located at the Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way where the queues had led to traffic jams around the Ikeja axis of the state.

SaharaReporters had days ago reported that the NNPCL said the scarcity of fuel in some filling stations in some Nigerian cities, particularly in Lagos is caused by distribution issues.

It was gathered that NNPCL mega filling stations along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway did not dispense fuel as of Monday evening.

On Tuesday morning, the NNPCL spokesperson, Femi Soneye, dismissed insinuations of fresh fuel scarcity, saying that the NNPCL did not have supply issues and that its products remained readily available.

Soneye, who added that the distribution issue in some areas had been resolved, was quoted as saying, “We are pleased to confirm that there are no supply issues, and our products remain readily available.

“The recent tightness experienced in certain areas was due to a brief distribution issue in Lagos, which has since been resolved.”

Also, the National Vice Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Hammed Fashola, said he was aware of the queues in some filling stations in Lagos, but said the queues might be due to panic-buying on the part of customers.

As a temporary response to the nation’s growing food crisis and the rising price of commodities, President Bola Tinubu, on Thursday, ordered the immediate release of more than 102,000 metric tons of various grain types from the Strategic Reserve and the Rice Millers Association of Nigeria.

This was the government warned that those hoarding foodstuffs would be dealt with.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, revealed this to State House Correspondents after the final leg of three meetings of the Special Presidential Committee on Emergency Food Intervention at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, on Thursday.

Deliberations began on Tuesday after angry youths and women took to the streets of Minna, the Niger State capital and Kano to protest what they described as the rising cost of living in the country. Similar protests also erupted in Ondo State.

After the first meeting, the Federal Government, said it was “very concerned about what Nigerians are going through, especially with what happened in Minna.”

It said it was “taking some action to ensure that Nigerians have some relief in terms of the availability of food on the table.”

Divulging arrangements agreed upon at the final session, Idris said, “The first one is that the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has been directed to release about 42,000 metric tons of maize, millet, garri and other commodities in their strategic reserve so that these items will be made available to Nigerians; 42,000 metric tons immediately.

“The second one is that we have held meetings with the Rice Millers Association of Nigeria. Those who are responsible for producing this rice and we have asked them to open up their stores.

“They’ve told us they can guarantee about 60,000 metric tons of rice. This will be made available and we know that is enough to take Nigerians the next month to six weeks, perhaps up to two months.”

Idris revealed that the administration would resort to importing necessary supplies to augment shortages observed after the release of the food items.

“Now, the third item is that government is also looking at the possibility, if it becomes necessary, as an interim measure in the short run also to import some of these commodities,” he revealed

The goal of the assorted measures, Idris said, was “to crash the cost of these food items. And these are measures that will happen immediately.”

He said, “42,000 metric tons from the strategic government reserve, about 60,000 metric tons of rice from the Rice Millers Association, they have them in all their storage facilities and government, in conjunction with them after this exhaustive meeting, has directed that they also bring this out immediately so that the price of rice will come down significantly.

“These are all measures taken to bring down the cost of food items immediately.”

The FG also revealed plans to inject a yet-to-be-disclosed amount of capital into dry-season farming to ensure a year-round food supply.

Idris explained: “There is a directive to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to invest massively in conjunction with Nigerian farmers and other producers so that we can have a better season coming up shortly.

“We all know that dry season farming is happening, which will take effect very shortly. And that, we hope, will also contribute because as soon as the dry season farming gets underway, the government hopes that food prices will also come down.”

The Minister, who declined to mention specifics, affirmed the FG’s readiness to take punitive measures against those he called food “hoarders.”

Lamenting what he insinuated to be a man-made food crisis, Idris said, “Now the government is also looking at all those hoarding these commodities because these commodities are available in the stores of many traders.

“Government is appealing to them, that they should open up these stores, make these commodities available in the interest of our nation. There is no point when the whole country is looking for this food; you are locking up these products so that you make more money and then Nigerians suffer.”

He threatened those hoarding grains, saying the Federal Government would not fold its arms and watch matters deteriorate.

“You cannot hold the nation to ransom. You cannot hoard these commodities in your stores when we all need them. We are in an emergency and we’ll take emergency measures to make sure that this food is available to Nigerians.

“We know where all these major traders are. We know where all these major stores are.

“And if they don’t respond by bringing these commodities to the market, the government will take appropriate measures to ensure that these products are made available to Nigerians,” he said.

Asked about the stipulated selling price of these commodities, the minister replied, “Yes, the government has looked at that and what I can tell you is that whatever the government will do to ensure that this food is made available to Nigerians at an affordable cost, the government will do that.

“The President has directed that whatever it will take, food will be available to Nigerians at a cost that is also very reasonable. And that is what the summary of this meeting entails.”

Meanwhile, there was a fresh protest in Kano State on Thursday over high cost of food items and other essential commodities.

Hundreds of Kano residents on Thursday evening took to the streets around Kurna, Rigiyar Lemu and Bachirawa areas along the popular Katsina Road, lamented that the economic situation was getting worse day by day.

Speaking in Hausa language on behalf of the protesters, Usman Bello of Rijiyan Lemo, said the harsh economic situation had caused untold hardship for masses in the state.

“We masses voted for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, it would not be good of him not to listen to our complaints and address the pathetic economic situation we were facing.

“To pretend that all is well is dangerous; those people closer to Mr. President should tell him the truth, that the masses are suffering and dying of hunger,” he said.