The Federal Government on Wednesday declared that it lacks the constitutional and legal authority to fix or regulate prices of domestic flights, stressing that Nigeria’s aviation sector has operated under full deregulation for over three decades.
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, made the clarification while speaking to State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa.
“Deregulation means the government has absolutely no powers to fix prices for private enterprises. That is the essence of a deregulated market,” Keyamo said, noting that the policy was introduced during the military administration of General Ibrahim Babangida.
The minister’s statement comes amid widespread public outcry over soaring airfares, which passengers have described as “outrageous” and “unaffordable.”
While acknowledging the genuine difficulties faced by airlines, Keyamo listed major cost drivers pushing up ticket prices: scarce aircraft availability, exorbitant dry and wet lease rates, absence of local heavy-maintenance (C-check) facilities, and heavy reliance on foreign exchange for overseas maintenance.
However, he announced a significant breakthrough: a major international aircraft lessor, absent from Nigeria for nearly 20 years, has returned to the market.
This has enabled one domestic carrier to secure a dry-lease agreement at roughly one-third the cost of previous offers.
Keyamo credited the development to recent reforms and the implementation of new practice directions under the Cape Town Convention, which have restored investor confidence in Nigeria’s aviation sector.
“With cheaper leases now available, more airlines will be able to expand their fleets. More aircraft on the ground means more seats, more competition, and ultimately lower fares in a free-market economy,” he said.
The minister expressed optimism that passengers would begin to feel the positive impact within the next few months to one year.On multiple taxation and charges recently criticised by ECOWAS as a burden on West African carriers, Keyamo confirmed that Nigeria has received the regional body’s advisory.
He however explained that aviation taxes are outside his ministry’s control.“Those revenues go straight into the Federation Account. I cannot unilaterally abolish or reduce them. It requires the Minister of Finance, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Nigeria Customs Service and other stakeholders to sit together,” he stated.
He assured that he has already forwarded the operators’ complaints to the appropriate authorities and that consultations are ongoing, adding that the government is committed to easing the burden on airlines without jeopardising funds needed for critical airport infrastructure and safety upgrades.
The minister therefore urged passengers to exercise patience, insisting that ongoing reforms will naturally bring down airfares through increased competition rather than through price controls, which he said would be illegal and counterproductive.
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