In a significant development for Nigeria’s aviation sector, the federal government has officially designated the Dangote Refinery as the sole supplier of jet fuel, also known as Jet A1, to airline companies operating within the country.
This decision was confirmed by the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, during an interview on Channels TV on Tuesday, October 8.
Keyamo explained that the move was made in collaboration with airline operators, who agreed to allow the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery to be their exclusive supplier of jet fuel.
The minister expressed confidence that this decision, backed by his approval and cooperation, would streamline the supply of Jet A1 and improve the efficiency of fuel distribution to airlines across Nigeria.
“The airline operators just met recently. With my blessing, it’s a decision from the airline operators in Nigeria that they should only buy from Dangote refinery Jet A1.
“You can see that yesterday we started a naira-for-crude purchase with Dangote. It’s all Naira, no Dollar component,” Keyamo said.
He clarified that the timing is perfect because Dangote and the federal government recently put the naira-for-crude agreement into effect.
He made it clear that this arrangement would lessen the strain on foreign currency.
“The price will no longer be subjected to the varying factors of the international market, nor the headwinds of oil price in the international market. It will be in local currency so we can be clear as to the cost of it. We will buy in naira. I’m sure we are going to have access to cheaper Jet A1 fuel,”Keyamo said.