Senate summons Aviation Minister, NCAA, FAAN, airline owners over soaring airfares

The Senate has summoned the Minister of Aviation, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Association of Airline Owners to appear before its Committee on Aviation.

Our correspondent reports that the summon is over what the senate described as an “astronomical hike” in domestic flight ticket prices.

The upper chamber condemned the sharp rise in air fares, noting that it had brought more burden on Nigerians travelling for the festive season.

The resolution followed a motion sponsored by Sen. Abdulfatai Buhari (APC–Oyo) during Tuesday’s plenary.

Buhari, who is the Senate Committee Chairman on Aviation, expressed concern that the recent spike in airfare was inflicting hardship on travellers.

“I flew from Lagos to Abuja, and it cost N400,000.

“For the past two months, Nigerians have been suffering and complaining about the price hike.

“Our roads are difficult to travel on. So it is important we intervene. We need to make an urgent decision before Christmas,” Abdulfatai said.

Corroborating Buhari, Sen. Adamu Aliero (APC–Kebbi) described the fares as outrageous.

“It is unaffordable for Nigerians. A corresponding increase of over 200 per cent amounts to exploitation,” he said.

Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, also faulted the price hike, citing a recent fare as an example.

“Abuja to Enugu is N500,000. That is equivalent to five months of minimum wage. Nigerians cannot afford this. It means many people will be unable to travel for the festive period,” he said.

Our correspondent reports that not all senators, however, agreed with the submissions.

Sen. Orji Uzor Kalu (APC–Abia) expressed his total disagreement with the motion.

“It looks nice on the surface, but it doesn’t work for airline owners.” he said.