- He stated that the government, led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is committed to addressing critical challenges in the aviation industry
- He emphasized the government’s commitment to making forex readily available to entrepreneurs and directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to hold quarterly reconciliation meetings to address this issue
Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, has called upon the Central Bank of Nigeria to ensure the availability of foreign exchange for investors within the country’s aviation sector.
Keyamo made this announcement during the 7th Aviation Summit held in Abuja on Wednesday.
He emphasized that the government, led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is committed to addressing critical challenges within the industry, including issues related to foreign exchange availability, the Aircraft Leasing Company, Aircraft Maintenance Organizations, and the provision of tax holidays. These measures are aimed at enhancing the aviation business environment in Nigeria.
Keyamo also highlighted the government’s efforts to resolve the longstanding issue of trapped funds belonging to foreign airlines, a crisis that has persisted for nearly two years.
“The current administration is aware that one of the setbacks entrepreneurs have suffered in Nigeria in recent years is the fluctuation of foreign exchange and its availability.
“This administration is committed to ensuring that forex is readily available to entrepreneurs, and I have directed that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) holds quarterly reconciliation meetings intending to resolve this issue,” he said.
As of the beginning of June this year, the International Air Transport Association said the total amount of foreign airlines’ trapped funds in Nigeria had risen to $812 million.