The Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria’s major carrier, Medview Airline, Alhaji Muneer Bankole, has called for policies that would ensure that the exchange rate stability achieved in the country is sustained.
According to him, naira depreciation would force airlines out of business and may hurt the industry.
He stressed that aviation industry is greatly affected by the exchange rate because almost everything about airline business is imported apart from personnel adding that huge amount of foreign exchange is needed to run airline business.
Bankole, therefore urged the Central Bank of Nigeria to continue to develop policies that would forex scarcity in the country.
Speaking at the weekend, during the 2019 Quarterly Business Meeting (BBM), organized by the Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI) in Lagos, Bankole, warned that any rise in the exchange rate again, would negatively affect the fortune of the airline sub-sector in the country.
He advised government to introduce policies that would ensure exchange rate stability, noting that with this, more businesses, including industries locally would spring up and provide jobs for the teeming population.
“As you are aware that before this administration came into being, the naira was N150 to a dollar and that was the target of everything we were doing, including leasing of aircraft and others, but, suddenly, it went to N500 and more. Then, a lot of challenges came in and you still have to pay your money back in the same value of the currency of which you took before” he said.
“We are praying now that the exchange rate should go down and not increase as predicted by some people. This will create better life for Nigerians. What government should do today is to bring it back to the minimal level by which we can grow our economy”.
