Countries should adhere to BASA rules- CBN Govermor

Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has demanded that countries should adhere to the Bilateral Aviation Services Agreement (BASA).

Emefiele made the demand during a meeting with the leadership of the House of Representatives, the International Air Transportation Association, Nigerian Airlines Operators, and the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika.

The CBN governor lamented that Nigerian airlines were barred from entering other countries with whom Nigeria has BASA agreements.

He also claimed that the bank has always given foreign airlines priority in repatriating their funds since 2016. He emphasized that the bank prioritized the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in allocating foreign money.

Emiefele recalled that because of the recession of 2016, he informed the airlines that there would be delays in the repatriation of funds while assuring them that their monies would not be lost. He said:

“On a particular day, I took a decision to allocate 265 million dollars to foreign airlines. On that day, we allocated 322 million dollars to IATA through UBA; Qatar Airways got 22.8 million dollars through Standard Chartered Bank.”

“Emirates Airline got 19.6 million dollars through Access Bank; British Airways got 5.5 million dollars through Guaranty Trust Bank; Virgin Atlantic Airline got 4.8 million dollars through Zenith Bank,’’ he added.