Stakeholders in Nigeria’s aviation industry have urged the federal government to urgently rehabilitate and reopen the 98-kilometre pipeline that supplies aviation fuel to the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos.
Speaking at a colloquium on Thursday, October 23, themed “Aviation Fuel Business in Nigeria: The Scenario and the Metaphor,” managing director of CITA Energies Ltd, Thomas Ogungbangbe, emphasized that restoring the pipeline would enhance efficiency, safety, security, and fuel quality across the sector.
Stakeholders noted that reactivating the pipeline shut since 1992 following a rupture would eliminate the need for over 100 fuel trucks on Lagos roads daily, ease traffic congestion, reduce accidents, and lower aviation fuel prices.
Ogungbangbe added that reopening the facility could save Nigeria millions of dollars monthly and urged authorities to tackle the inefficiencies plaguing the sector.
He also appealed to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to review and streamline the growing number of aviation fuel marketers operating at airports nationwide.
He said, “We still lose millions of Jet A1 to our neighbouring African countries in West African countries.
“However, some of these are being reduced due to the emergence of Dangote refineries in the last 18 months.
“Now, our industry is growing, but we are groaning due to a lack of adequate control.
“We used to have about six fuel marketers, but now, we have about 45, which is good for the industry, but now, we have a problem with the quality of the product.”
The managing director of Ndano Energy, Chris Ndulue, urged the NCAA to intensify its oversight on the quality of aviation fuel supplied to airlines.
He further advised the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to exercise greater caution in allocating land to operators.
He noted, “Some airports have about 30 fuel marketers.
“At Enugu airport, for instance, we have about five fuel marketers, which is a high number for the operators at that airport.
“It is increasingly necessary for people to work together.
“Though it is quite difficult because of the poor experience of some who collaborated in the past, the truth is that we can’t run away from it.”
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