Eshioromeh Sebastian, Abuja
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has stated that the Federal Government possesses no legal authority to dictate domestic airfares, asserting that market competition and new aircraft leases will ultimately drive prices down.
Briefing State House correspondents after Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja, Keyamo explained that Nigeria’s aviation sector has been deregulated since the era of former President Ibrahim Babangida, placing pricing outside government control.
“Government has absolutely no powers to fix prices for private enterprises. That is what deregulation means. But that does not mean we are leaving the airlines without engagprices”, Keyamo said, addressing concerns over soaring ticket prices.
He linked the current high fares to structural challenges, including limited aircraft access, costly lease agreements, a lack of local maintenance facilities, and the burden of sourcing foreign exchange for mandatory overseas checks.
He confirmed he was invited by the Senate to discuss the issue but was unable to attend due to his FEC presentation, directing the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and airlines to honour the invitation instead.
The minister, however, pointed to a significant development that could ease the crisis: the return of a major global aircraft lessor to the Nigerian market. He revealed that one carrier has recently secured a dry-lease agreement at a cost three times lower than previous rates.
“You remember that we have passed the practice direction regarding the Cape Town Convention, and for the first time in the last three, four weeks, one of our local airlines now began to access dry lease.
“The dry lease was three times lesser than the price they normally get, and it was given by one of the best and the biggest lessors in the world, Aercap, after abandoning Nigeria for nearly two decades,” Keyamo stated.
He expressed confidence that increased aircraft availability would spur competition and lead to lower fares.
He explained: “The only thing that can drive prices down in a free economy is competition. So in the next few months, or within the next one year, I expect that we will have more aircraft to service more routes and force down the prices by pure competition. We are going to do that, I assure you”.
On the issue of multiple taxes and charges, Keyamo confirmed receipt of an ECOWAS circular advocating for relief but clarified that the regional body cannot compel sovereign tax policy.
He noted that consultations are underway with the Finance Ministry and other fiscal authorities for a holistic review.
The FEC also approved a suite of aviation projects, including extended maintenance for the Kano airport terminal, the procurement of advanced surface movement guidance systems, new air-traffic control tower cabins for eight airports, and the installation of additional biometric e-gates at international terminals.
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