Air Peace boss warns that Nigerian airlines only have three days supply of aviation fuel left

AIR Peace chairman Allen Onyema has warned that all local airlines operating within Nigeria will have to shut down their operations in three days time as a result of the ongoing fuel scarcity.

Over recent weeks, Nigeria has been plagued by a chronic shortage of petroleum products like petrol, kerosene and aviation fuel.  According to Mr Onyema, the shortage of aviation fuel has got to bad that airlines will need to be giver licences to import products or they will have to ground their fleets.

Speaking at a meeting of oil marketers and airline operators at the National Assembly, Mr Onyema said the carriers are demanding operational licenses from the federal government to allow them import fuel. Also in attendance at the meeting was the chief executive of  the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Mele Kyari.

Mr Onyema said: "We have only three more days, all airlines in Nigeria will shut down. We are not threatening this country, it is a fact.

"I have the mandate of all airlines to demand that they begin the importation of fuel, if we can buy planes of millions of dollars, we can also import fuel ourselves. Let the NNPC give airlines licenses, we want to import ourselves."