Following a meeting with representatives from the oil and gas industry, Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, has suspended enforcement of helicopter landing fees for two months. Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil); Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC); and representatives from International Oil Companies (IOCs), the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS), and the Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG) attended the meeting on Monday at the Ministry's Abuja headquarters. Dr. Yakubu Kofarmata, the departing Permanent Secretary, and Umar Farouk, Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), both joined Keyamo.
In a statement, Tunde Moshood, the Aviation Minister's Special Advisor on Media, disclosed that stakeholders in the oil and gas industry had requested the meeting because they were concerned that the current structure of the statutory fee might interfere with vital industry operations.
Conflict erupted in the aviation industry last year as oil corporations and helicopter operators resisted the federal government's $300 per landing fee. International Oil Companies (IOCs) and Local Oil Companies (LOCs) are required to pay $300 for each helicopter landing on oil platforms, rigs, airstrips, aerodromes, and helipads throughout the nation. This policy was implemented during the administration of the late President Muhammadu Buhari. At the time, the strategy was strongly opposed by the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON). Members fiercely opposed the fees, claiming they were exploitative, unlawful, and poorly thought out.
The government finally responded as a result of the strong pressure from stakeholders. Keyamo declared in May 2024 that the fee would be temporarily suspended. He explained that the suspension was necessary to provide a group made up of officials from the Ministry, agencies, AON, IOCs, and NAEBI Dynamic Concept Ltd. time to conduct a thorough evaluation.
The federal government lifted the levy on May 15, 2025, precisely one year after it had been suspended. The NAMA's General Manager of Air Traffic Control Operations, Akut D.S., signed a circular titled "Authority to Collect Helicopter Landing Levy by Messrs NAEBI Dynamic Concepts Ltd," which instructed NAEBI Dynamic Concepts to start collecting right away.
Early in July 2025, NAMA intensified the situation by threatening to withhold start-up clearances for non-compliant operators and giving all parties involved, including IOCs, a seven-day ultimatum to provide payment plans and receipts.
Stakeholders persisted in their criticism of the fees, and on Monday, Keyamo issued an order temporarily suspending them for the first two months following lengthy discussions. Additionally, he said that an interministerial group of representatives from the petroleum and aviation industries would be established right away to thoroughly investigate the issues and create a structure that would be acceptable to everybody.
