Kayamo Removes Hindrances to Aircraft Acquisition to Make Nigerian Airlines Competitive

Chinedu Eze

With the legal backing to the compliance with the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment 2001, known as Cape Town Convention, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has opened the opportunity for Nigerian airlines to easily acquire aircraft and compete effectively with others in the world.

Following the issuance of Practice Directions on Cape Town Convention by the Federal High Court which is vested with the constitutional jurisdiction on Aviation matters, last Thursday, the airlines said the Minister has reached a milestone in the effort to make Nigerian carriers lease aircraft at cheaper cost and also to make lessors rescind the blacklist of Nigerian operators on dry lease of equipment.

The signing of the Practice Direction was presided over by the Vice-President of Nigeria, Senator Kashim Shettima at the meeting of the Presidential Council of Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Spokesman of the Minister, Tunde Moshood, explained that since taking over office, one of the key points of the Minister’s 5-Point Agenda is the support for the growth and sustenance of local airline businesses whilst holding them to highest international standards.

“In pursuit of this agenda, the Minister was confronted with the lingering problem of the low rate of Nigeria’s compliance with the Cape Town Convention – a Convention that regulates the dry-leasing of aircraft by major aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus and major lessors across the world who perceived Nigeria as a non-compliant country. This led to the blacklisting of Nigeria by the Aviation Working Group (AWG),” Moshood explained.

He disclosed that the AWG on Cape Town Convention (CTC) compliance index shows Nigeria’s substantial non-compliance with the CTC which is largely as a result of legal impediments in the country’ judicial process which have adverse impact on the implementation and compliance with terms of the Convention.

 “The Minister, with the key support of Mr. President, the Vice-President and the Attorney-General of the Federation, then reached out to key institutions and offices in the judicial sector to make this possible, which resulted in the signing of the Practice Direction today (Thursday),” Moshood further disclosed.