The federal government has explained reasons for granting a company the exclusive rights to collect helicopter landing levy at all aerodromes, helipads, oil rig platforms and other places in the country.

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo said millions of dollars have been lost due to poor regulation of the collection process.

He also said the company; NAEBI Dynamic Concepts Limited which he granted the rights to was the one the immediate past minister, Sen. Hadi Sirika was considering for the job.

The Minister disclosed while speaking on a national television.

He said: “I inherited the process from my predecessor. It is a good deal and so I had to grant them the rights because before, helicopters were totally unregulated and we lost millions of dollars to this practice.

“Nigerians believe that helicopters have been flying and landing all over this country without paying anything; they were totally unregulated.

“Government is a continuum and if you see a good idea, you accept it. It is not everything I will cancel. I suspended Nigeria Air but this particular project is good and so there was no reason to suspend it because the company said they would help us collect fees from the helicopters through a PPP arrangement.

“The company will put the infrastructure in place, employ personnel and remit to the federal government. So, everything will be going to the federation account and the company will get their cut,” he added.

The ministry in a letter by the minister announced its decision to grant the rights to NAEBI in a letter to all operators and stakeholders of civilian helicopter operations in Nigeria.

The letter reads: “The Federal Government of Nigeria through the Ministry of Aviation has granted an exclusive right to Messrs NAEBI Dynamic Concepts Limited to collect Helicopter Landing Levy at all Aerodromes. Helipads, Air Strips, FSPOs, and, Oil Rig Platforms in Nigeria.

“It is imperative that all operators and stakeholders fully comply with the mandate, by granting total access to Messrs NAEBI Dynamic Concepts Limited for the collection of levy, effective immediately.

“Non-compliance with this directive will constitute a breach of the mandate and will be met with appropriate sanction. The Ministry will enforce compliance without exception and will pursue all available remedies against any party that fails to adhere to the directive.

“Please note that the Ministry of Aviation will be monitoring compliance with this mandate closely, and will take swift action against any violation,” it said. (The Nation)

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