The Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives has challenged President Muhammadu Buhari to take immediate steps to avert an imminent shutdown of flight operations in the country.
The situation said would have grave consequences on the national life of the country.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives Hon. Ndudi Elumelu.
The call by the Minority Caucus is coming against the backdrop of the notice by Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) to shut down flight operations in the country by Monday, May 9, 2022 due to the unbearable high cost of aviation fuel (JetA1) from N190 to N700 per liter.
This worrisome development in Nigeria, which is a major producer of oil, is another very sad commentary on the unpardonable failure, corruption, incompetence, negative policies and lack of capacity of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration to effectively manage our national economy, the minority leader said.
As representatives of the people, Elumelu said they are concerned because aviation is pivotal to the operation, sustenance and survival of other key sectors of the economy. Hence the caucus observed that any shutdown of flight operations will have devastating spiral effect and worsen the excruciating economic hardship and further escalate insecurity in the country.
“This is because apart from the direct disabling of thousands of aviation related jobs and ancillary businesses, a shutdown of the sector will also have grave negative impact on critical government and public sector activities which are sustained by air travelling.
“It is instructive to note that the aviation sector is no longer an exclusive reserve of the elite, but plays central role in the movement of personnel and equipment that drive and sustain services and operations which benefit the masses in healthcare, manufacturing, education, food production, telecommunication, retailing, banking and finance, hospitality, entertainment, power, security and other key sectors.
“A shutdown of the aviation sector will therefore cripple millions of businesses as well as economic and commercial activities thereby increasing unemployment, worsen the economic hardship, put pressure on our already ailing roads and exacerbate insecurity in our country.”
Moreover, he said the situation is a huge threat to the nation’s national integrity as it will erode the confidence of the International Community and foreign investors in Nigeria thereby encouraging the movement of investments to neighboring countries.
The Minority Caucus therefore urged President Buhari to wake up, as they took note of the grave import of the situation saying he should save the aviation sector from imminent collapse by immediately addressing the fuel crisis and other challenges in the industry.
“Mr. President should critically address the crisis in the petroleum industry by reviewing the counter-productive policies and curbing the corruption in his administration so as to save our national economy from collapse under his watch.”