The House of Representatives Committee on Aviation has summoned the Major Oil Marketers, Airline Operators and the management of the Petrol Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) to determine the remote causes of unprecedented jump of the pump price of Jet fuel to N160 per litre.

The House of Representatives Committee on Aviation has summoned the Major Oil Marketers, Airline Operators and the management of the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) to determine the remote causes of unprecedented jump of the pump price of Jet fuel to N160 per litre.

The incessant rise in Jet fuel price has led to increased flight charges and a drop in flight schedules of many airline operators in Nigeria.

Chairman House Committee on Aviation, Mr. Bethel Amadi expressed grave concern on the consequences of unfair Jet fuel pricing to the aviation industry, which if not properly determined could lead to the collapse of Local Airline Operators.

Hon. Amadi gave the hint at Joint-Meeting of the House Committee on Aviation with representatives of the Petroleum Product Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria and officials of airlines Operators in Nigeria held weekend in Abuja.

The Aviation Committee Chairman charged the various parties in the Jet fuel pricing dispute to take into cognizance their corporate social contracts with Nigerians and come-up with appropriate and acceptable pricing for aviation fuel similar to other petroleum products.

Earlier in his presentation, Executive Secretary of Airline Operators in Nigeria and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Belview Airlines Mr. Kayode Odukoya accused the Petroleum Marketers of constituting itself into a cartel by fixing price of Jet Fuel without free and open market- bidding to determine appropriate pricing.

According to Odukoya, the cost of Jet Fuel in Nigeria is about 50 percent higher than some African Countries who had just emerged from both economic and political crisis such as Gambia, CoteD'voire, Liberia and Cameroun. Mr. Odukoya reiterated the importance of Jet Fuel pricing in determining the success or failure of Airlines Operators, pointing out that the Aviation Fuel consumes 40 percent of airlines total operation cost worldwide.

He stated as baseless to presume that the incessant rise in Jet Fuel was as a result of old stock tendered in the past when it does not reflect on other petroleum products and urged the PPPRA to invoke its statutory powers to reverse the trend.

Responding to allegation against Petroleum Marketers, Mr. Obafemi Olawore who spoke on behalf of Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) objected the allegation that his Association was a cartel. He argued that pricing for Petroleum Products is determined by certain key factors prevailing in any environment.

According to Mr. Olawore, the cost of Jet Fuel is determined by both internal and external factors such as cost of freighting, demurrage, landing cost, NPA charges, storage charges, foreign exchange cost and interest rate, all these have the capacity of impacting on the pricing of Aviation Fuel. Reacting to questions on control and regulation of the activities of Petroleum Products Marketers, the Head of Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) Mr. Wole Ademolekun, stated that petroleum products marketers responded to government deregulation of the sector by pulling together their resources to import petroleum products and to sale them through competitive biddings.