* CBN, Governor, Godwin Emefiele * Pix source:
…Warns International Airlines Not To Resort To Blackmail
The Central Bank Governor(CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has said that the Apex Bank will release $120 million to international airlines to offset part of their funds trapped in the country.
Emefiele said this on Monday at a meeting between the leadership of the House of Representatives, the International Air Transportation Association (IATA), Airlines Operators of Nigeria (AON) and representatives of the Federal Government, including the Aviation Minister, Senator, Hadi Sirika and other stakeholders in the aviation industry.
CBN, the Governor said has been working to ensure that the foreign airlines repatriate their funds and that necessitated the resolve to release the first tranche of $265 million to the airlines in August.
He added that the money has since been disbursed in bits with another $120 million to be due on October 31.
According to him, “Everyone is calling on CBN to release blocked funds, and I am doing everything I can to provide dollars for you to repatriate your money.”
Speaking further, Emefiele said, “We used our discretion to allocate $265 million to the foreign airlines, broken down into spot and forward. We did $110 million on the spot and the rest in 60 days forward.
“On that day, we allocated to IATA $32 million through UBA. Qatar Airways, $22.8 million through Standard Chartered; Emirates, $19.6 million through Access Bank; British Airway, $5.5 million through GTB; Virgin Atlantic, $4.8 million through Zenith and others.
“How then can they go about and begin to say that they have not received money? This is an extra allocation. This is something I have told you (foreign airlines) that we will continue to do so that you will not blackmail the country. $120 million will be due on the 31 of October.”
Emefiele pointed out that it was unacceptable for foreign airlines to resort to “blackmail” against the country because of their trapped funds.
In his words, “I can print Naira, even though I have been accused of printing Naira, but I cannot print dollars. We have to either earn it or borrow it.”
He urged foreign airlines to respect the Bilateral Air Services agreement (BASA) as according to him it would help to solve the challenge of unrepatriated funds.
“When you allow Nigerian airlines to fly in your country, what the airlines will do is charge Naira as we expect foreign airlines to charge. You cannot be flying 21 flights into Nigeria and you do not allow Nigerian airlines to land in your country and when they land, you intimidate them with sniffer dogs and do not allow them to carry out maintenance checks,’’ Emefiele alleges.
Also speaking, the Representative of IATA, Samson Fatokun said about $700 million of foreign airlines are still trapped despite the intervention of the CBN.
He appealed to the Apex Bank to provide a timeline of how the funds are to be repatriated to assure the international airline operators.
According to him, “What we have right now is $700 million our balance is $700 million. The airlines are reasonable by saying that [you] give us a plan for repatriation.”
