LAGOS – Alhaji Adamu Abdullahi, Acting Vice Chairman, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), has condemned cross border trading of foreign airlines inventories, describing it as a monster that must be tackled and destroyed.
Abdullahi also said that this had impacted negatively on Nigeria’s travel economy.
The FCCPC’s Acting Vice Chairman stated his yesterday in Abuja during a courtesy visit to the agency’s office by Mr. Yinka Folami, the President of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) and his executive members.
Abdullahi warned that the trend if not nipped in the bud, was dangerous, worrisome and an economic threat to the country’s economy.
To avert the threat, he insisted it must be before it compounded the woes of the Nigerian travelling public and the livelihood of Nigerian travel trade professionals.
He added that air ticket cross border trading may lead to loss of jobs among Nigerians, especially those working with travel agents, stressing that it also frustrated effort of the government to stop capital flights out of the country.
He, however, promised that FCCPC would assist the government in tackling the menace and restore sanity in the seemingly dysfunctional aviation industry.
He said: “We shall be very thorough in this engagement and other noticeable infractions in the aviation sector, particularly about airline operators treating passengers as if they don’t matter.
“It is sad to just cancel or delay flights without carrying passengers along, and if you must cancel flights or cause it to be delayed beyond reasonable time, such operator must show us evidence of operational difficulties.”
Abdullahi further commended the leadership of NANTA for the foresight to engage and partner with FCCPC to enthrone equity and fair play in the Nigerian travel economy, noting that a technical committee would be set up by the commission to work out terms of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the body, which is aimed at sustaining the relationship.
Earlier, Folami, disclosed that the association was at FCCPC to appreciate the management for helping to stabilise the fragile and troubled Nigerian travel sector, particularly during the foreign airlines trapped funds saga, which he said created and brought about untold hardship on Nigerian travelling public and the travel agents, causing a dip to about 40 per cent loss in the Nigerian travel market.
He expressed that NANTA was worried about the dip in the market values of its business, particularly through cross border trading by merchants.
He regretted that their unwholesome activities had led to capital flight out of the country, exposed the country’s consumers, trade professionals, and even foreign airlines operating in Nigeria to huge loses.
Folami emphasised that NANTA was worried that such unfair trade practices could complicate the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises in Nigeria, factoring jobs loses and impacting on the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“FCCPC has shown commitment and capacity to help clean the cobwebs in the industry and also to help strengthen NANTA as a veritable body to help the government and people of Nigeria to protect our borders from external and internal obnoxious trade practices,” he said.
Also at the meeting representing NANTA were; Mrs. Susan Akporiaye; immediate Past President, and Mr. Bolu Agbaje, partner in Pinheiro LP, a Legal Adviser to NANTA.
Akporiaye in her speech, said that NANTA was ready for this patriotic task.
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