In a bold move to revive Nigeria’s ailing aviation industry, Minister Festus Keyamo targets wet leasing as the main culprit, pledging to promote dry leasing and empower local investors to acquire aircraft.
Nigeria’s aviation sector is facing significant challenges, with wet leasing of aircraft hindering the growth and sustainability of local airlines.
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, made this assertion during a visit from the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) executives to his office in Abuja.
Keyamo emphasized the need for the sector to transition to dry leasing, which would enable Nigerian operators to acquire aircraft and boost their capacity. He lamented that wet leasing was “killing our capacity to grow the sector sustainably.”
“My mission is to restore the glory of the Nigerian aviation industry, and that is why I have embarked on visits to aircraft manufacturing companies to help our local investors acquire aircraft,” Keyamo said. “We need to open up the market for dry leasing to Nigerian operators. Wet leasing is killing our capacity to grow the sector sustainably. It is my major concern to empower Nigerians.”
Keyamo assured NANTA that the Federal Government would address all travel trade-related concerns and emphasized the importance of empowering Nigerians to stabilize the industry.
He acknowledged the various issues plaguing the sector, including the capacity of Nigerian airline operators to compete profitably and meet the demands of the Nigerian traveling public.
NANTA President, Yinka Folami, commended Keyamo for his efforts and assured him of the association’s support and collaboration. Folami requested the minister’s intervention to promote equity and fairness in the travel trade market, citing the negative impact of unmitigated cross-border trading by foreign merchants and their local collaborators.
Folami noted that the market had shrunk by about 40% due to these practices, threatening jobs and depressing the Nigerian economy. He emphasized the need for global players to play fair and avoid encroachment on Nigerian fares.
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“We have no problem with global players in our market, but they should play fair, and stop encroachment of global fares with its attendant depressing effect on the Nigerian economy, and on the Nigerian traveler.”
