Market News

BY  Wole Shadare

More plaudits are coming the way of Nigeria as RwandAir and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) have continued to heap praises over the manner the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) resolved the trapped fund crisis less than one year after the current administration came to office.

The Chief Commercial Officer of RwandAir, Owie Best, who declined to disclose how much was received by his airline, while speaking to New Telegraph, said RwandAir was very appreciative of the Nigerian government and IATA for all that has been put in place. He equally lauded the effort of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, for his intervention while the issue lasted, recalling that the trapped fund issue was a huge blow for the aviation industry in Nigeria.

“We appreciate the Nigerian government and we call on them to continue to do their best and declare the remaining backlog, it is very minimal. “I will talk about funds repatriation, I want to commend the Nigerian government for ensuring that our funds are repatriated. We don’t have any issues with that. IATA has commended Nigeria, it’s not what it used to be.

“Ninety-eight per cent of the entire fund has been repatriated with only $19 million that is less than two percent of what it used to be. We are very appreciative of the Nigerian government and IATA for all that has been put in place,” he said. “The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Keyamo, intervened at a point and the Minister of Finance has been very helpful in speaking for his industry because that was a big blow to this industry.

We appreciate the Nigerian government and we call on them to continue to do their best and clear the remaining backlog which is less than two per cent of the total value of the funds,” he added. Just last week, IATA said Nigeria had cleared 98 per cent of foreign airlines’ blocked funds, disclosing that the remaining two per cent of funds amounting to $19 million yet to be cleared was due to the central bank’s ongoing verification of outstanding forward claims filed by the commercial banks.

It noted that as of April 2024, 98 per cent of these funds have been cleared. Director-General of IATA, Willie Walsh, said: “We commend the new Nigerian government and the Central Bank of Nigeria for their efforts to resolve this issue. Individual Nigerians and the economy will all benefit from reliable air connectivity for which access to revenues is critical. We are on the right path and urge the government to clear the residual $19 million and continue prioritising aviation.”