Senate Committee on Aviation Rejects N4b Bailout for Aviation Sector

The Senate Committee on Aviation has rejected the proposed N4billion bailout for airline operators and other businesses in Nigeria’s aviation sector, stating that it is insufficient to make any meaningful impact after the effect of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The decision was reached on Monday, November 2, 2020, at the public hearing on six executive bills aimed at fine-tuning regulatory issues as well as effective management of agencies in the Nigerian aviation industry.
Senator Smart Adeyemi, Chairman of the committee, affirmed that the fund is far less than what is needed for the sector to finance aircraft maintenance as well as staff welfare.

He avowed “I think the Federal Government should give the industry all the attention it deserves, a substantive support. The N4billion is not enough. Yes, you might say they are in business; but their business is the soul of our economy.”

Adeyemi further urged the government to provide sufficient bailout for the airline operators in order to avoid acts of cutting corners in the industry.

In his remark, the Honourable Minister of Aviation. Senator Hadi Sirika explained that the N4billion bailout is what the federal government can afford.