Nigerian Gov’t Signs Cape Town Convention To Cut Down Airlines’ Operation Costs

History was made on Thursday as the Federal Government signed the Cape Town Convention (CTC) Practice Directions in a move to reduce the costs of airline operations in the Nigerian aviation sector.

The CTC Practice Direction was signed on Thursday by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Terhemba Tsoho, during a stakeholders’ meeting of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

With the signing of the CTC Practice Direction, the Cape Town Convention becomes actively and fully operational in Nigeria, thereby reducing the cost of insurance for airlines, restoring investors’ confidence in the nation’s aviation sector and enabling domestic airline operators to dry lease aircraft, among others.

Some local operators had in the past breached the Cape Town Convention which regulates aircraft leasing across the world, leading to the Aviation Working Group, co-chaired by Airbus and Boeing, threatening to blacklist Nigeria until it implements a law that would guide against a repeat of such breach.

Speaking after the signing of the CTC Practice Direction, Vice President Shettima, in a statement by his spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha, said the administration of President Bola Tinubu is a pro-business government that is ready “to take all the necessary measures – as painful as some might be – to protect, promote, project and preserve the interest of the Nigerian nation,” as well as preserve and promote the nation’s airlines industry.

He said, “It is a great day for the Nigerian nation. We had fruitful engagements and we were able to cross-pollinate ideas across all sectors and have come up with robust solutions to the challenges facing the Aviation industry.

“I want to seize this opportunity to commend my Lord, Justice John Tsoho, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court. Judges are, by nature, very conservative people. For him to frontally address the issue and sign the Cape Town Convention (CTC) Practice Directions, I think, is worthy of commendation.”

The VP also commended the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, saying: “All the issues agitating the minds of the airlines operators have been frontally addressed by the Minister, and on Monday they are meeting him to further consolidate all our gains.”

VP Shettima assured airline operators in the country that President Tinubu will do everything to promote and preserve the Nigerian airline industry.

He said, “And, of course, my brother, Allen Ikechukwu Onyema, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, and Alhaji Dr. Abdulmunaf Yunusa Sarina, the Chairman of Azman Airlines, I want to assure you that the present administration headed by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is a pro-business government, is a pro-Nigeria government, and will take all necessary measures to protect, promote, project and preserve the interest of the Nigerian nation.

“Air Peace has a fleet of 35 airlines and 26 more on order. Be rest assured that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is keenly interested in the promotion and preservation of the Nigerian airline industry. I spoke with him about three days ago, and he was very much interested in the outcome of our deliberations today, and I will report back to him.”

On his part, the Finance Minister promised to meet with airline operators and other stakeholders to perfect issues pertaining to agreements reached at the meeting with the Vice President.

He said, “My Lord, the CJ of the Federal High Court, called it action to revolutionise the airline industry. PEBEC is all about improving the business environment and reducing cost and what has been signed here is action that will substantially reduce cost in the airline industry, facilitate growth and development of that industry, and include further action that, I’m sure, would be taken in that direction once I meet with the airline industry and also have Customs present to discuss some charges which they want lowered, and which they believe by law should, in fact, have been implemented at lower levels.

“So, we’ll discuss that on Monday; that will be a further step in the direction of improving the business environment for airlines and, of course, it is all about a strategy that already has produced a growing economy, lower inflation, a relatively stable exchange rate and increased foreign reserves, positive balance of trade.”

Speaking on behalf of Airline Operators in Nigeria, the Chief Executive Officer of Air Pace Limited, Mr Allen Onyema, expressed appreciation to President Tinubu for enhancing a positive change in the aviation sector.

He added that since assuming office, the President has introduced policies that will help improve the lives of Nigerians.

“Today is a historic day for Nigeria. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has once again demonstrated that he is not only a listening President but has gone a long way to engender the ease of doing business in the aviation industry more than any other since the creation of this country called Nigeria.

“We the Airline Operators are so happy and we commend him for what he has done today. Today is a revolution. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has caused a positive revolution in the aviation industry by making sure that this practice direction concerning the Cape Town Convention and its application in Nigeria,” Onyema stated.

Also, Special Adviser to the President on Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, noted that the signing of the document will help reduce the cost of insurance as well as reduce the cost of doing business in the aviation sector.

She said, “Nigerians have been seeing a high cost of flight tickets lately; there are a number of factors including foreign exchange and others but there are some regulatory and bureaucratic challenges but because the President is really committed to addressing challenges one by one, this is one of the fruits of what he has done.

“I just want to thank the President for his attention to ease of doing business and making sure that Nigeria is a progressively easier place to start and grow a business.”

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, who was represented by the Aviation Ministry’s Director of Human Resources, Dr Anastasia Gbem, said the signing of the document on actualising the Cape Town Convention was in line with the Ministry’s goal of enhancing the capacity of local airlines’ business.

She added that the signing of the document will reassure the international community that it is safe to invest in Nigeria.

“Investors can bring their aircraft into Nigeria and if there is any problem, such aircraft would be recovered within the 10-day period that Nigeria and the Cape Town Convention have provided. So it is an unprecedented history made today and it is a venture that will boost the Nigerian airlines and the entire aviation industry,” said the Minister.

On his part, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission of Nigeria, Mr Olusegun Omoseye, said the signing of the document was significant progress for Nigeria’s aviation sector and the economy in general.