The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) is poised to reinstate the contentious $300 landing fee imposed on helicopter operators in the country.

During the ongoing 53rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Nigerian Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) in Kano, Tayo John, the Director of Air Traffic Services at NAMA, remarked that reinstating the fee would alleviate the agency’s current financial challenges.

Naija News reports that his submission follows the federal government’s six-month fee suspension, a decision taken in response to protests from airline operators.

It could be recalled that the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, had previously engaged NAEBI Dynamic Concept to oversee the collection of this fee.

In May 2024, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, announced the suspension of the $300 landing fee for helicopter operators.

He indicated that further decisions regarding the fee would be made after a review committee submits its findings for evaluation.

In his presentation titled ‘Financial Constraints Affecting Nigeria’s Air Navigation Provision: Impact and Mitigation Strategies,’ John explained that the Federal Government had urged the agency to suspend the fee shortly after its initial implementation.

He did, however, mention that NAMA is developing a framework to resume the collection of the levy from helicopters operating at oil rig platforms and private helipads throughout the country. The director did not specify when the agency would recommence the collection of this fee.

He said: “In the next few weeks, we will recommence the collection of $300 landing fee from helicopter operators. We started earlier, but the government directed us to suspend it then due to some issues in the country then, but this time around, we will resume the collection.”

John, in his paper, further highlighted the substantial costs associated with providing navigation aids, Air Traffic Management (ATM) equipment, and maintaining the necessary workforce at NAMA.

The Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has given more explanations on why the northern region and some other stakeholders are against the Tax Reform Bills proposed by President Bola Tinubu.

According to him, the tax reforms would only benefit Lagos State and bring backwardness to the North.

Speaking during an interview with BBC News Hausa, Governor Zulum added that not only the north would be negatively affected, but also to the South East, South South, and South West.

In his view, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, and Ondo will also have problems.

He added that some supporters of the bill are of the opinion that the proposed bill could put Lagos at a disadvantage; but according to him, if that is the case, they do not wish for any such disadvantages to affect Lagos State.

Zulum, therefore, urged President Tinubu to revisit the tax reform bills in light of the fact that he received 60% of his votes from the northern region.

The Governor advised the President that he should ignore voices suggesting that the northern population does not support him as that perception is inaccurate.

The Borno Governor emphasized that all they want is for him to withdraw the tax reform bills.

The position of Governor Zulum comes at a time when the Senate has advanced the Tax Reform Bills to second reading amidst the opposition against it and controversies it has already generated.

Naija News gathered that the bills passed second reading after the majority leader of the senate, Opeyemi Bamidele, led a debate on them on Thursday.

The Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), Olufemi Soneye, has shared that the government agency collaborated with an external organization to revitalize the previously defunct Port Harcourt Refinery.

During his remarks on the obstacles encountered in the refurbishment of the ageing facility, Soneye elaborated on the strategy employed.

He indicated that the organization engaged retired NNPC personnel who had extensive experience in refinery operations, leveraging their knowledge and skills.

The incorporation of these seasoned and proficient resources proved to be a pivotal factor in the project’s success, as highlighted by the spokesperson for NNPCL.

“Execution of a revamp project in a brown field environment has a greater technical difficulty, which is multiple times higher than in a green field. Unknown and unforeseen technical challenges impeded the commissioning and startup multiple times and took us back several weeks, hence schedule delays.

“We partnered with and drew on the wealth of experience from an external party who had carried out commissioning and startup, currently operating and maintaining several refineries. The injection of these additional, highly skilled and competent resources was the game changer. We also identified and mobilised retired NNPC staff who had worked in the refineries; their experience and expertise were useful. We carried out a detailed technical review to understand and identify areas of vulnerabilities; we put a system in place to eliminate and address the bad actors systematically,” Soneye told Nigerian Tribune.

Speaking on why there was a delay regarding the commencement date, he said: “You would recall we had made several attempts to start up the PHR about six to seven times with dates. We felt there would be added pressure on the entire team once we announced a date, hence the reason why we made sure, based on lessons of the past, we went mute on the commencement date to allow us sufficient time to ensure operations were stable.”

Addressing controversy about the refining and blending going on at the Port Harcourt Refinery regarding petrol production, he said: “Refining and blending are interconnected processes crucial for crude oil processing and optimizing refinery yields, especially when producing Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).”

Soneye, who was addressing speculations about suspected secrecy and suddenness of the launch of the refinery, said: “There was no secrecy and suddenness of the launch. We had to ensure the OPHR 60kbblpd was stable after the commencement of operation, and we had built up sufficient volumes of the products.”

He added: “Port Harcourt Refinery – and any operating refinery in Nigeria – will contribute to supply security for Nigeria and reduce the dependency on importation and the related USD needed for those imports. Refineries also contribute to technology developments and employment.

“Pricing will always be determined by market forces both inside and outside Nigeria, however, one could expect that using locally produced crude and reduction of imports reduce overall logistics costs.”

Port Harcourt Refinery Operating Model

Speaking on the operating model of the newly launched Refinery, Soneye disclosed that: “Crude oil supply will be purchased from our NNPC Trading Company under sales and purchase agreement. Crude oil transportation will be via pipelines under the tariffing framework. Operations and maintenance (O and M), that is planned turnarounds and reliability engineering, will be outsourced to the external contractor based on a five-year contract. Planning and scheduling, Commercial, Supply Chain and Finance will be under Port Harcourt Refinery Company (PHRC). Product evacuation/offtake will be via NNPC Retail under the purchase agreement.

“To ensure the sustainability of the historical operations of the OPHR 60kbblpd plant and the NPHR 150KBBLPD, NNPCL has put in place an interim Operations and Maintenance Contract to guarantee uninterrupted operations of Area 5. As you are aware, we are about to finalise the five years O&M tendering process. This will finally put us on the right path to ensure we have the best contractor in the world working with NNPCL to ensure reliability and utilisation of 210kbblpd refinery – this would ensure energy security to the country.”