Follow Us on Google
From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
House of Representatives has implored the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to prevail on airlines to show understanding over their blocked funds.
The House assured that the various organs of government were making efforts to ensure that their tickets proceeds are duly remitted.
The chairman, House Committee on Aviation, Nnolim Nnaji, stated this, on Tuesday, in Abuja, while playing host to the IATA Regional Vice President for Africa and Middle East, Mr Kamil Ala Wadhi, who paid him a courtesy call.
Nnaji, while assuring the IATA boss that the Federal Government through the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN) had put in place a mechanism for the liquidation of the blocked funds, said the prevailing situation in the country was in consonance with the global economic meltdown.
The lawmaker, who lauded IATA for its contributions to the safety of air travel through its operational safety programmes, (IOSA) , which a number of Nigerian Airlines have benefited from, said the Federal Government has also made tremendous investments in the aviation sector to improve security and safety in the aviation sector.
Earlier, Mr Ala Wadhi had acknowledged the interest shown by the House towards finding solutions to the member airlines’ blocked funds in Nigeria.
He disclosed that within his regions, “a total of $1.1billion airlines’ funds are blocked and half of these funds ($550,000,000)are held in Nigeria. I do appreciate your interventions and l urge you to continue to do more so that it can be quickly resolved”.
