The Senate passed a resolution on Wednesday, urging the Central Bank of Nigeria to release the sum of $717,478,606, which is currently trapped in the country, to the airlines.
This resolution was made on Wednesday during the plenary session, after considering a motion sponsored by a member of the Peoples Democratic Party representing Ekiti, Sen. Biodun Olujimi.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the upper chamber also called on the CBN to allocate $25 million to Nigerian airlines through its regular dollar auction.
The motion titled “Current Issues on airlines blocked funds in Nigeria” was introduced by Senator Biodun Olujimi (PDP-Ekiti), who chairs the Senate Committee on Aviation.
The Vice Chairman of the Committee, Senator Bala Na’Allah, presented the motion on behalf of Senator Olujimi who introduced the motion.
The Senate emphasized the need for immediate action by the Federal Government to address the escalating issue of blocked funds affecting airlines in Nigeria.
The upper chamber specifically urged President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) to instruct the Governor of the CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, to release the funds that have been withheld from the affected airlines.
Additionally, the Senate appealed to the airlines operating in the country to refrain from suspending their services while efforts are being made to resolve the matter.
According to Senator Na’Allah, who moved the motion, Nigeria has been the most challenging country for airlines to repatriate their funds since January 2021, severely impacting their ability to sustain their operations.
“In February, Nigeria alone accounted for 44% of the total airlines blocked funds in the world. As of March, the total amount of airlines blocked funds in Nigeria was $717,478,606, which includes matured bids that the CBN has not yet delivered, bids that are yet to mature, and cash balances in airlines’ accounts for repatriation,” he said.
He added that out of the overall sum of funds held by airlines in Nigeria, there is an amount of $186.5 million, which represents 26% of the total blocked funds, that the CBN has yet to release despite the bids being matured. Furthermore, three major stakeholders, namely IATA, Qatar Airways, and Ethiopian Airlines, account for 57% of the total blocked funds.
According to the report, the senators showed their support for the motion and voted in favour of the prayers when Senate President Ahmed Lawan conducted a voice vote.
