Aviation Minister Keyamo asks CBN to make forex available for investors

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria to make foreign exchange available for investors in the country’s aviation sector.

Keyamo disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja at the 7th edition of Aviation Summit.

According to Keyamo, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government would focus on critical challenges facing the industry, including Forex availability, Aircraft Leasing Company, Aircraft Maintenance Organisation and tax holidays, to improve aviation business in Nigeria.

He noted that the government is working towards ending the crisis of foreign airlines’ trapped funds, which had lingered for almost two years.

“The current administration is aware that one of the setbacks entrepreneurs have suffered in Nigeria in recent years is the fluctuation of foreign exchange and its availability.

“This administration is committed to ensuring that forex is readily available to entrepreneurs, and I have directed that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) holds quarterly reconciliation meetings intending to resolve this issue,” he said.

As of the beginning of June this year, the International Air Transport Association said the total amount of foreign airlines’ trapped funds in Nigeria had risen to $812 million.