With Dangote refinery, scarcity of Jet A1 will be a thing of the past — AFMAN chairman

In view of the furore surrounding the quality of aviation fuel being sold to airline operators, the Federal Government has been urged not to allow marketers of the commodity without depot to sell the product to airlines at the airport in the interest of safety, normalcy and quality.

Speaking to the Nigerian Tribune  at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, chairman of Aviation Fuel Marketers Association of Nigeria (AFMAN), Dr Thomas Ogungbangbe, said the need for government to heed his call became pertinent in the interest of safety and to control quality.

Ogungbangbe, who is also the Group Managing Director of CITA Aviation fuelling company, said the call had nothing to do with competition as there will always be competition no matter the number of marketers

His words: “So, it is not about competition or pricing but it’s about safety and quality control. It is just in order that in this kind of business that we do, if you do not have any depot where you can have control on your quality, you don’t have business in that airport”.

Ogungbangbe further suggested that any marketer who does not sign agreement with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) on the ownership of any depot should have no business in the airport.

While not ruling out the joint ventures arrangements in the business of aviation fuel marketing, the CITA boss, however, frowned on the signing of ordinary commercial agreement to  supply aviation fuel to airlines by marketers without any physical investments on ground, which, he said, was not done in other climes.

While remarking that for anyone to be involved in the business of JET A1, there must be a depot to be recognised by the department of petroleum resources and not moving from one marketer to the other, Ogungbangbe stated:  “If any company does anything and something happens, such company will easily remove the sticker on their fuelling truck disappear, since their head office is unknown”.

According to him,  with all the depots across the country, the marketers  will be able to service twice the operating airlines in the country.”

On the astronomical price of aviation fuel, Ogungbangbe, who expressed optimism that the price of the product will drop in the next few months should the exchange rate drops, equally boasted that with the coming on stream of Dangote refinery, scarcity of aviation fuel will be a thing of the past, as the refinery has the capacity of servicing not only Nigeria but Africa.

The Chairman of AFMAN however noted that the number of aviation fuel suppliers  have increased from six in the last 20 years to almost 50, the development which he said  had reduced profitability and led to high headed aggression in an elitists environment being over subscribed”.

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