Victor Ezeja
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has denied saying that the Federal Government approved Dangote Refinery to be sole distributor of Jet fuel also known as Jet A1, to Nigerian airline operators.
There were media reports that Keyamo made the comment during an interview with Channels TV programme aired on Tuesday.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelHowever, in a reaction to the report, Keyamo wrote via his official X handle claiming that the report misrepresented what he said during the interview.
According to the Minister, he never said the Federal Government sanctioned the arrangement but that Nigerian airline operators voluntarily decided to be buying Jet fuel from Dangote Refinery.
“This is a misrepresentation of what I said,” Keyamo stated.
“The correct position is that the Airline Operators of Nigeria voluntarily decided they would patronise Dangote Refinery in their purchase of Jet A1 fuel not that the Federal Government approves Dangote Refinery as sole supplier. That is not correct,” he clarified.
The aviation minister had during the interview said “The airline operators just met recently. With my blessing, it’s a decision from the airline operators in Nigeria that they should only buy from Dangote refinery Jet A1.”
The minister highlighted the positive implications of the implementation of the naira-for-crude agreement the Federal Government thought the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) had with Dangote Refinery.
According to him, it the arrangement would help ease the pressure on foreign exchange.
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Highlighting the benefits of the naira-for crude deal to the the domestic airlines, Keyamo said the policy will shield them from being exposed to the impact of crude oil price fluctuations in the international market thereby reducing operational costs.
“The price will no longer be subjected to the varying factors of the international market, nor the headwinds of oil price in the international market. It will be in local currency so we can be clear as to the cost of it. We will buy in naira. I’m sure we are going to have access to cheaper Jet A1 fuel,” Keyamo said.
Prime Business Africa had reported that the Dangote Refinery which started operations in January 2024, began producing Jet fuel in April and diesel in May.
The 650,000 barrels per day facility had been producing for both local distribution and exports.
The $20 billion refinery had exported some cargoes of its aviation fuel to Europe.
According to reports, Dangote has to date exported not less than six cargoes of jet fuel.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
