Experts in the aviation industry and Jet A1 marketers have urged the Federal Government to urgently rehabilitate and reopen the long-shut 98-kilometre pipeline that supplies aviation fuel to the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.

According to them, restoring the pipeline will remove over 100 fuel trucks from Lagos roads daily, reducing congestion, lowering accident numbers, and ultimately cutting the cost of aviation fuel.

Meanwhile, the pipeline, which was shut down in 1992 after a rupture, was reportedly closed following suspicions of foul play by the government.

Speaking on Thursday at a colloquium themed ‘Aviation Fuel Business in Nigeria: The Scenario and the Metaphor’, the Managing Director of CITA Energies Ltd, Dr. Thomas Ogungbangbe, called for the revival of the pipeline for reasons of efficiency, safety, security, and quality.

Additionally, Ogungbangbe said reopening the facility could save the country millions of dollars monthly, while urging authorities to address systemic inefficiencies affecting the sector.

While lamenting that aviation fuel marketers have outgrown the number of available airlines in the country, Ogungbangbe appealed to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority to, as a matter of urgency, review the number of marketers operating in Nigerian airports.

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His words, “We still lose millions of Jet A1 to our neighbouring African countries in West African countries. However, some of these are being reduced due to the emergence of Dangote Refineries in the last 18 months.


“Now, our industry is growing, but we are groaning due to a lack of adequate control. We used to have about six fuel marketers, but now, we have about 45, which is good for the industry, but now, we have a problem with the quality of the product.”

Also speaking, the Managing Director of Ndano Energy, Mr. Chris Ndulue, urged the NCAA to intensify its oversight on the quality of aviation fuel supplied to airlines.

He further advised the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria to exercise greater caution in allocating land to operators.

“Some airports have about 30 fuel marketers. At Enugu airport, for instance, we have about five fuel marketers, which is a high number for the operators at that airport. It is increasingly necessary for people to work together. Though it is quite difficult because of the poor experience of some who collaborated in the past, the truth is that we can’t run away from it,” he said.