By Ayyuba Haruna, Abuja
The Nigerian Senate has rejected the offer of N5 billion as bailout for airline operators and other businesses in the aviation sector.
The Senate says that, the amount is grossly inadequate to relief the impact of Covid-19 in the industry.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Smart Adeyemi on Monday made a case for bailout for airline operators in Nigeria but was quick to add that what government was offering as bailout was too little to make any meaningful impact.
"The bailout for the airline operators is a far cry from what will be required for them to finance aircraft maintenance and retain their workers," He maintained.
Senator Adeyemi advised government to provide sufficient bail out to the airline operators to avoid them "cutting corners" in their operations.
The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika had informed the Senate Panel about Federal Government's plan to provide N4 billion for airline operators and another N1billion for other business owners in the aviation sector as part of its intervention to cushion the effects of Covid-19 pandemic.
He said government's decision was based on the recognition of the pivotal role of the aviation sector to the Nigerian economy.
The Minister said that, the Federal Government will require the backing of the Senate for necessary appropriation in this regards in the 2021 budget.
Declaring the hearing open, the President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan who was represented by the Deputy Leader; Robert Ajayi Boroffice said the six bills are consistent with current efforts by government to improve standards in the aviation industry.
The conversation was as the Senate Committee on Aviation on Monday began a 3-day public hearing on six Executive Bills aimed at fine-tuning regulatory issues as well as effective management of agencies in the Nigerian Aviation industry.
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