Nigeria probes airlines' US$33 million debt to agencies

NIGERIA's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the anti-corruption agency, is probing the "protracted indebtedness of some domestic airlines" amid reports that the airlines owe aviation agencies NGN5 billion (US$33.06 million) after failing to remit five per cent ticket and cargo charges over the years.

According to a report by ThisDay, a Lagos newspaper, the EFCC has already summoned the debtor airlines, the director general of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Harold Demuren, and top officials of the regulatory body responsible for collection of revenue for questioning into the matter.

The affected airlines are: Arik Air, Allied Air (a cargo operator), Associated Airline and Top Brass Airlines (both charter operators).

"ThisDay gathered that the anti-graft agency had to step in because of the affected airlines' recalcitrance and unwillingness to remit the five per cent tax collected on behalf of the agencies at the point of purchase of tickets and payment of airway bills by passengers and shippers of air cargo," it said.

"The Federal Government is said to have been peeved by the huge debt, which have almost hamstrung the operations of the agencies, particularly the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET)."

The report added the NCAA and the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) joint apron, where some private jets are parked, has been sealed off jointly by the authority and the military for security reasons and private jets using it have been told to leave.
(source:www.schednet.com)