The Hon. Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Mr. Festus Keyamo and the Ag. Director General of the NCAA in Abuja signed the Irrevocable De-Registration and Export Request Authorisation (IDERA) to boost the ratings of Nigeria globally and open it to more financiers in the aviation sector and to enable airline operators to access dry lease aircraft.
According to the minister, prior to this time, due to the absence of this IDERA document lessors and financiers in the aviation industry sees Nigeria as not been safe for business
While signing the document, the Minister said that the successful signing of the Cape Town Convention and the signing of IDERA will give the country better opportunities to grow the aviation sector.
In his word: “Previous governments have ignored this part of our duty in the aviation industry and I am sure that you have seen of late that to unlock the world of aircraft lessors and aircraft financiers across the world, we signed the practice direction guiding the court on how to interpret the Cape Town convention and the protocols.
He explained that lessors now have two solutions if an issue regarding aircraft arises either judicial proceedings or the administrative route. According to him, this would address past uncertainties in judicial processes involving lessor-lessee disputes.
“Thankfully, we have settled the judicial aspect by signing the practice direction and now we are signing the administrative aspect. so, lessors and lessees can either approach the court or the NCAA for their aircraft to be taken out of the country.
“This is a very important step, and it would raise the scores of Nigeria in the world of lessors and financiers, and certain negotiations around the world by our airline operators that are on hold due to our inability to sign IDERA will get approval because we have signed IDERA.”
“When there was a dispute in the past, it was always a problem on how to resolve it, and the timeframe to resolve was lengthy. That single uncertainty affected our rating in the international communities, and we were blacklisted. They said Nigeria was not a safe place for lessors and financiers to bring their aircraft.
The Minister further mentioned that he would lead stakeholders to a world conference in Dublin, Ireland, next year to assess more aircraft.
Also speaking, the Ag. Director General of the NCAA, Capt. Chris Najomo said IDERA would enable airlines to have access to dry-lease aircraft and boost their operational capacity. Najomo, sighted the Cape Town Convention, which he said aims to reduce the cost of raising finance for large, high-value mobile assets which routinely cross borders.
“About registration and operation of aircraft in Nigeria, the main impact of the Convention is the ability of the registered owner to request an Irrevocable De-Registration and Export Request Authorisation (“‘IDERA”) over an eligible aircraft.
“Once an IDERA is recorded, the party that has been declared by the registered owner as the authorised party will be the only party with the right to de-register and export the aircraft” he added
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