OBIORA OKONKWO: NIGERIAN AIRLINES NEED A SPECIAL FOREX WINDOW

He demanded the removal of “speculators” from the industry by Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo.

Local airlines require a unique window to access foreign cash from the Central Bank of Nigeria, according to Obiora Okonkwo, the spokeswoman for Airline Operators of Nigeria and chairman of United Nigeria Airlines.

The new aviation minister, to work with other government agencies to root out the bad actors who specialize in making things even more challenging in an interview on Wednesday.

You have naira, but you can't exchange it for dollars, he remarked. Therefore, the answer to this is for our minister to realize that in order to obtain FX, specific window with the CBN.

Okonkwo asserts that the incoming minister should collaborate with other government institutions to purge the industry of speculators.

There is no justification for the delivery of aviation fuel to the pump to cost more than N500, regardless of the global price of crude oil. Everything you see above, pleading with the NNPC employees to free our nation.

“The aviation minister may not be solely responsible, but he must look for and collaborate with other government agencies to fish out the bad system because the people causing all of this harm are people in the system,”

The aviation sector has is the most important industries. Additionally, he cautioned the minister against meddling with the current regulatory framework.

The government and new aviation minister must acknowledge the aviation sector as one of the nation's most vital industries. It is now a form of transportation and not just something for the wealthy.

When it comes to the unstable and toxic business environment, the aviation sector is the most affected since, as a local operator, you make all of your money in Naira while needing roughly 90% of your income to keep the aircraft in the air, which is paid in dollars.

The present minister should refrain from altering the rules. We once had a pretty bad situation where the federal Ministry of Aviation issued job letters to the regulatory staff. That is unacceptable and ludicrous. Let the regulatory system continue as is. Investigate the most recent appointments that were made just before the previous administration ended as well.

The chairman of United Nigeria Airlines added that the airline owners are making every effort to overcome the difficulties they are experiencing.

If you believe that tickets are pricey, you probably don't understand the sacrifices that local operators make. Given the way the costs are rising daily, we should be paying at least N250,000 to travel from Lagos to Abuja if we have to charge the fares.

A global exchange market for national currencies is known as FX market. Forex markets typically rank among the biggest and most liquid asset markets in the world due to the global nature of trade, commerce, and finance, currencies are traded against one another. Currency exchange takes place on the FX market. The lack of a central marketplace is the feature that distinguishes this global market the most. Instead, over the counter (OTC) electronic currency trading takes place, rather than taking place on a single centralized exchange, all transactions take place over computer networks among dealers worldwide.