FG puts up committee to work on areas of operators concerns on Cape Town Convention
In a bid to attract maximum benefits of the Cape Town Convention CTC, recently signed by the federal government, Vice President Kashim Shettima on Tuesday inaugurated a special committee to resolve all grey areas raised by the airline operators.
Vice President Shettima who is the Chairman of the Presidential Ease of Doing Business Council, inaugurated the committee at the State House, after meeting with representatives of the airline operators in his office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Jumoke Oduwole, Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business, disclosed this after a meeting with the airline operators, chaired by Vice President Shettima on Tuesday, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Oduwole disclosed that the committee which has already begun its meeting to resolve the operator’s concerns is expected to meet again with the Vice President, to submit its recommendations next week.
“We have already started actions to ensure the implementation of the CTC agreement. Part of it is the meeting we had today, where the Vice President established a small committee to look into the concerns raised by airline operators and we are expected to come up with some suggestions for resolving those concerns by next week” she stated.
The airline industry in Nigeria had operated under the “high-risk nation category because some airlines had violated earlier signed agreements and seized aeroplanes, leased to them.
The operators are also concerned about getting dollars to pay for their assets, which they see as difficult, because of the exchange rate volatility.
They are also worried over high insurance premiums in Nigeria, due to the operating environment but Allen Onyema, Chairman of Air Peace, while speaking to State House Journalists after the meeting on Tuesday, expressed confidence that Nigeria will get it right this time.
“ We are excited because even our Foreign partners, the lessors, are happy with the latest developments in the aviation industry in Nigeria and are eager to start leasing their aircraft to us”
