The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Banks seek members’ recapitalisation status

    Banks seek members’ recapitalisation status

    The National Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMB) has directed all licensed microfinance banks (MFBs) nationwide to update their recapitalisation status for assessment and follow-up actions with regulatory authorities.

    NAMB’s Executive Secretary Shikir Caleb said this in a statement in Abuja.

    The decision is coming barely a week after the revocation of 179 MFBs’ licences by the monetary authorities and the negative implications for its financial inclusion drive.

    Caleb said the decision was taken at an emergency meeting of the leaders of the NAMB after vigorous deliberations on the latest licence revocation action of many MFBs by the CBN.

    The union leader said the Board of Trustees (BoT), past presidents and members of the association’s National Working Committee (NWC) attended the meeting.

    He explained that the main agenda at the meeting was the revocation of the licences of the affected MFBs and how to proactively forestall future negative occurrence in the MFB sub-sector of the financial system.

    “Following the review and deliberations on the licence revocation matter, the top leaders of the NAMB directed that the various state chapters should categorise the affected micro lenders into MFBs that have fully re-capitalised but yet to be approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    “MFBs that have not been fully re-capitalised but had ongoing discussions for funding; MFBs that were yet to re-capitalise; and MFBs that have long closed shop,” he said.

    Caleb said the leaders also advised any MFB that had fully recapitalised but had not been approved by the CBN to present its submissions to the secretariat with a summary of its recapitalisation status to date.

    The union chief said the leaders also agreed that the association would review the submissions and have a meeting with all MFBs on June 8 in Abuja “with a view to collating all submissions for engagement with the management of CBN”.

    Also commenting on the licence revocation, the NAMB National President Joshua Ukute rued the ugly development and promised that the “leadership of the association will continue to intensify its self-regulation activities in all MfBs nationwide to forestall this type of occurrence”.

    He added: “We have also mandated the secretariat of the NAMB to do more by enlightening the public, especially all stakeholders in the association’s financial inclusion drive value-chain with the aim of building confidence in the MfB sub-sector of the financial system.

    “As you all know, the MFBs have, over the years, remained at the forefront of the financial inclusion strategy agenda’s implementation and they will continue to do their best to deepen financial services, especially in remote communities that the big players are not ready to go.”

  • Mercenary lawmaking

    Mercenary lawmaking

    There are times lawmaking becomes like prostitution: ‘Money for hand, back for ground’ as they say it in pidgin parlance. That was the mode members of the Benue State House of Assembly found themselves lately as the tenure of immediate past Governor Samuel Ortom wound out. The lawmakers had suspended their constitutional functions because of huge salary arrears owed them by the Ortom administration, but when that administration managed to defray part of the arrears, they held session solely to pass an executive bill intended by the administration to provide bogus life pension for ex-governors and their deputies.

    Lawmaking can’t be more transactional! But it might well be a transaction in futility because whereas the bill got enacted under the former administration, it falls entirely on the new administration of Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia to implement the law. And the new administration has shown ample indication of not being keen to oblige.

    The new pension legislation makes every former Benue governor entitled to a monthly stipend equivalent to the basic salary of a serving governor; and for former deputy governors, that of a serving office holder. Other benefits include N25million maintenance allowance for ex-governors and N15million for ex-deputies every four years, sponsored medical trips abroad yearly for the exes and their spouses, brand new vehicles – two for an ex-governor and one for an ex-deputy – to be replaced every four years, and a squad of personal staff respectively to be salaried from the state treasury. And that was only the whittled down slate of benefits as approved by the house: propositions by the Ortom administration had included  choice residential houses for former governors and deputy governors anywhere across Nigeria.

    Owing to non-payment of their salary arrears for six months and running costs for three months by the executive arm, members the Benue assembly had early in May shelved their plenary specifically to frustrate legislative processing of the pension bill sent to them by ex-Governor Ortom for approval. But barely five days to the end of Ortom’s tenure, the lawmakers said they received bank alerts of the payment of three-month salary arrears and offsetting of outstanding overhead costs, upon which they summarily reconvened plenary and passed a degraded slate of executive pension benefits. “Yes, the house passed the bill just now but we reduced the contents badly,” House Minority Leader Bem Ngutyo was reported saying.

    Prior to the legislative approval, Rev. Fr. Alia, then as Governor-elect, had criticized the bill. Now that he is in the saddle for implementation, and with the Ortom administration having bequeathed some N187.7billion debt obligation, you could bet the executive benefits deal is dead on arrival. 

  • First literate president

    First literate president

    Before light made dawn, the heavens opened and touched earth. Abuja earth, that is. It was May 29. From my hotel windows, flashes and furies of rainfall obliterated distance. Cracks of thunder released contours of fiery lights but they were not bright enough to pierce walls of downfall from the sky. To quote Conrad’s preface to his novel, The Secret Agent, “there was a lot of light. But not much to see.” The weather crackled and caked the eye that morning.

    The rain, I said, was to wash away an era, debris and all. It would soon peter out, no pun intended. By 8am, the Abuja air was quiet. Birds returned to their morning chirps. Tree boughs nodded in wait. Pedestrian footfalls yielded to the whirs of cars on the streets. Crisp with soft light, Abuja weather set the scene of a new era, a new president. Away from the prophets who saw witches and wizards their angels could not repel. Those who said he would not sit on his presidential chair. Who said the army would whisk him away at the Eagle Square. As this essayist quoted last week, “though there be prophesies, they shall fail.” Now, like Paul said, their tongues shall cease. It was also the end of fantasy.

    One week has passed, a few things embossed on the calendar. He met with economic officers, including Mefi. He met with top military brass. He appointed Femi Gbajabiamilla as chief of staff and George Akume as secretary to the government of the federation. But it was a week of audacity that began with the phrase, “fuel subsidy is gone.” I had appeared on the popular radio-tv show, Berekete Family, to which I was invited to talk on the new president and his speech. My first take on his speech was its call to unity, as a nation of the brother’s keeper. The theme was haunted by the Lincoln quote, “with malice towards none, with charity for all.” President Bola Tinubu said, without working as one country, we could not tackle the huge problems bedeviling us.

     No sooner had the day ended than the labour upstarts started to stoke the flame. They forget that the Buhari government had said so before. Marketers, with an eye to profiteering, were hiking pump prices of fuel already subsidized. They were making a harvest from scarcity.

     NLC president Joe Ajaero saw blood and growled like a bush cat. This was the same fellow who hobnobbed with the Labour Party candidate, who is asking for a pre-determined outcome in the presidential cases in the court, who made love to Labour Party. He probably lost his ears when his candidate said he would abolish the subsidy as the first thing at swearing in, if in his fantasy, he won the polls. Suddenly, Ajaero is giving us a taste of his pugnacious hypocrisy. He has acted without a sense of the cooperative unity Tinubu asked for. Ajaero ran away from NLC because he lost out in his presidential bid and formed a parallel body he did not know how to organize. He exposed himself as they project ended up in smoke. It is like his anaemic career as a journalist. He should learn from the history of labour and its interactions with politics. The movements do not follow the coattail of political parties. The labour movement is about workers, and once a political party emerges and even bears the name of a party, it divorces itself from that movement. There can only be marriages in ideas, not in mechanics of operation, not in its hierarchies. British workers voted for conservative Margaret Thatcher and kept her as their prime minister for a decade.

    Labour does not have to anoint a Labour party. After all, the Labour Party in Nigeria has been a nest of prostitutes, labouring for the highest bidder. It takes anyone who can pay its way. We have seen all kinds until this Elupee era. This Elupee is a marriage of tribe and church, of yes daddy and accents, not of work. After all, how many times did their candidate visit workers in the course of his campaign?

    His call for strike is a call for partisan revolt. It is a strike for a pharisee. Anyway, the president’s abolition of the subsidy is the boldest move in the country in this republic. Maybe, Ajaero and his coven did not want to remove it. Maybe that was what his LP candidate told him. If that is the case, they are not only liars, but cowards. Removing subsidies is bound to, in the words of Vice President Kashim Shettima, come with “the consequences of the unveiling of a masquerade.” It is those masquerades labour should zero in on. Masquerades of cheats, of round-trippers, of vampiric profiteers, of shibboleth and saboteurs. He should look askance at those who make us pay for fuel around the West African sub-region and stretching all the way to Sudan. It costs us close to N400 billion a month. Instead, he is fighting with his liberator. This is the kind of policy that exposes how much excess we buy and how much we need. He reminds of the line from the poet Lord Byron, “he had no objection to true liberty, except that it will set them free.” What Tinubu has done modifies and stylises the echoes from the sometimes ambiguous words of Rousseau: “Force them to be free.”  So, Ajaero and company have become an unforeseen masquerade unveiled in their monstrous cruelty.

    It is a moment not in austerity but realism. Why should the poor pay for the extravagance of superrich vermin? Those who have five cars, one for wife, one for school commute, one for self, one for servants, et al, will now realise that it is no way to run a culture or economy. Time to clip excess to cling to prosperity. We are pruning the fat. In the United States, most families do not have two cars. The cost is immense. If they have, they don’t use them every day. In the U.S., people carpool and share the cost. We cannot become rich by pretending to be “aje butter” first. We have to work to deserve to be “aje butter.” Even rich countries sweat at it. We have to turn the tide before riding it.

    Again, palliatives are good, and Tinubu is working on it. But it is not even a long-term solution. In the two times we removed subsidy, once under Jonathan and the next under Buhari, the palliatives were a paradox. We replaced corruption with corruption. Those who had the palliative contracts, including labour leaders, saw it as opportunities to enrich themselves. So, we expect that the palliatives will work this time. But the main issue is how the saved money is mobilized for economic prosperity.

    The two times under the two previous governments, they lacked the imagination and courage to turn the funds into economic expansion and opportunity.  Even then, they took the funds piecemeal and it gave us no peace. Hence, many objected with cries in the streets to Jonathan’s try because it was an avenue for corruption. We have to navigate a laissez-faire approach with interventionism, combine the strengths of Fredrich Hayek and Ludwig Von Mises on one hand with Keynes and Galbraith on the other, Hayek’s “minimum state” and Keynes’ demand-pull. It takes a man who knows the nexus of culture and economics to do it.

    There is no better person to do this than Tinubu. He is the first literate president in Nigerian history. It is not about who can read and write. This is political economy and culture. That is supreme literacy. He understands commerce, having worked as a technocrat for much of his life. He understands law having been a senator. He knows governance and its intricacies since he was governor and the most consequential one in this republic. He understands culture and he is a consumer of it, from music to his growth among poor. He is both earthy and polished. He is immersed in Nigeria’s history. The story is told of his young days following a minstrel on the back of a truck on a tour of the southwest. He is folksy and has empathy for those who do not sound or worship like him. None of his fellow contenders have this experience. Vice President Shettima with a master’s degree from Ibadan and an elite banker in Lagos, Kano and Borno, and his travels and dynamics of his soul, is the most cosmopolitan vice president we have had in this republic and the most exposed in our history since Ekwueme. He too has a sense for the street having founded what we know today as the Civilian JTF.

    With this combo, handling an economy like ours is in good hands. President Tinubu knows, like economists Karl Polanyi and Abraham Rotstein, that the economy is too important a matter to be left to economists. He understands the culture. We are seeing evidence already. Someone said with a whiff of exaggeration that within three days, the president has tackled traffic problems in the cities. The pains are there. But the solution has to come gradually.

    In his meeting with service chiefs, he gave marching orders on oil theft. That costs us so much that from it alone we can tackle education and transportation in Nigeria. In a meeting with top Buhari officials, the U.S. treasury secretary Janet Yellen said Nigeria was not poor and that we were tying our money in fuel subsidies to an indolent class.

    Rather than focus on strikes, Ajaero should, as a labour man, ask why his favourite party is in turmoil. He should follow the money. The “no shishi” party had a bank that rolled out fantastic profits based on the inflows from outside the country. They would not even pay for materials in the tribunal where their submissions and that of the PDP are colliding and making a mess of their so-called “robust” case as a Sunday columnist called it. That same columnist said Tinubu was not man enough to tackle the country. Yet the man who is “not man enough” has done the bravest thing in the republic. The same writer concluded that he can avail himself of an option to either follow the right path or the wrong. What a contradiction. Maybe he does not know human nature. If he does not know what it takes, why is he saying he has an opportunity? Not many who can write are wise and not many who are wise can write.

  • Subsidy: Fed Govt okays action on TUC demands

    Subsidy: Fed Govt okays action on TUC demands

    • Tripartite panel to work out modalities for palliatives implementation
    • Oshiomhole faults NLC for shunning talks •Negotiation resumes tomorrow

    A major step towards averting an industrial action over petrol subsidy removal was taken last night.

    The Federal Government said it would consider a list of demands by the Trade Union Congress (TUC), including a minimum wage increase and tax holiday.

    Yesterday’s meeting was a follow-up to Wednesday’s parley between the government and Labour over President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s pronouncement during his inauguration statement that ‘fuel subsidy is gone’.

    Following the speech, marketers raised the price of petrol and Labour announced a nationwide strike to begin on Wednesday.

    Negotiations would continue tomorrow on the demands, the spokesman of the government team, Mr. Dele Alake, announced after the meeting.

    He said Labour’s demands are “not impracticable”.

    TUC President Festus Osifo confirmed tomorrow’s meeting.

    Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) leadership, which attended Wednesday’s meeting, failed to show up yesterday. 

    It declared its intention to go ahead with strike on Wednesday. 

    According to its president Joe Ajaero, the government must reversed the ‘unilateral’ increase of petrol prices before any negotiation.

    Former Edo State governor Adams Oshiomhole faulted the NLC for shunning the resumed negotiation between the Federal Government and the organised Labour.

    He expressed the hope that the Joe Ajaero-led union will return to the tomorrow when the government team and Labour officials resume talks.

    But the government said it would continue to reach out to the NLC leadership. 

    There were calls on the NLC to shelve the planned action.

    The government got more support for the subsidy removal from manufacturers, investors and business concerns, and was urged to introduce palliatives.

    The government team at yesterday’s meeting was led by Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Senator George Akume.

    Alake said: “We are very happy to announce that this engagement has been very productive.

    “The TUC presented a list of demands, which will be presented to Mr President for consideration. 

    “A lot of the items on the list are not impracticable. What we need to do is to study the numbers very well.

    “We have asked the TUC to also give us a leeway to consult very exhaustively and reconvene on Tuesday (tomorrow) to look at the numbers’ viability and practicability of all the items. 

    “The most important is the issue of the minimum wage, which the Labour movement has demanded given the consequential impact of this removal of subsidy. 

    “The government will look at that and Mr President is most likely going to constitute a tripartite committee of Federal Government, states and the organised Labour as well as the private sector. 

    “The committee will study all the dynamics of a wage increase in percentages, the numbers and the categories that will be affected. 

    “So, by Tuesday, when we reconvene to meet with the TUC again, we should have very concrete items to present to the world. 

    “But, the most important thing for today is that we are making appreciable progress with the Labour.”

    Alake admitted that the cost of living will rise with subsidy removal.

    “Labour argues that there is an immediate impact on the workers, on the purchasing power, because the price of fuel has gone up. 

    “That will necessarily reduce the purchasing power of the average worker. So, the next thing of immediate consequence is to increase the purchasing power of the worker. 

    “That to me and all of us on this side is the topmost priority on the list. 

    “There are other things like the tax holidays in which some categories of workers will be beneficiaries. But the most important is the minimum wage,” Alake said.

    On the NLC, he said: “We all agreed that we are going to meet here, but again, in this game there are dynamics. 

    “Sometimes, they could be meeting with their executives and not able to meet with us, or they could want to postpone or they have not articulated their list of demands as the TUC. 

    “But we cannot second-guess why they are not here. But efforts are being made to reach them; we are not isolating them at all.”

    Osifo said his team attended the meeting as directed by the union’s National Executive Council (NEC).

    He said: “Yes, we have presented the list of our demands and they received it in good faith. They will go back to their principal and come back to us on Tuesday. 

    “So we’re hopeful that the demands that we have presented will be reviewed in the best interest of Nigerian workers and the entire Nigerian masses.”

    He confirmed that part of the demands is the review of minimum wage, which he said has been eroded by the subsidy removal.

    “Because they are going back to Mr President, we also think that we should also give them that benefit of the doubt,” he said.

    Others members of the Federal Government team are Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefie; Senator-elect Adams Oshiomhole; and Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari.

    Also at the meeting were the Executive Secretary of the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), Zacch Adedeji; Executive Vice President, Downstream, of the NNPCL, Yemi Adetunji; House of Representatives member James Faleke, among others.

    NLC: strike to go on

    The NLC yesterday debunked claims that its ranks were divided, saying it was going ahead with its planned industrial action.

    The Congress said all the affiliate unions of the NLC stand together.

    Head of Information and Public Affairs, Benson Upah, said: “Whereas primordial sentiments such as religion, region or ethnicity may be a refuge for some, at the NLC, they have no place. 

    “What counts for us are issues such as the mindless and criminal increase in the pump price of PMS whose burden will be borne by the already impoverished communities of the poor across Nigeria.

    “The burden of this malevolent policy will not be borne by other segments of the country to the exclusion of the North or Southwest. Thus, there is no reason for these regions to back out of the strike.”

    More unions are mobilising for the industrial action.

    The National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) directed its members to withdraw their services nationwide on Wednesday.

    The NUEE, in a notice signed by its acting general secretary, Dominic Igwebike, urged its members to comply with the directive and stop work from the early hours of Wednesday.

    “All national, state and chapter executives are requested to start the mobilisation of our members in total compliance with this directive,” the statement stated.

    The Nasarawa chapter of the NLC is also mobilising its members.

    Its chairman, Ayuba Oko, after an emergency meeting of the State Executive Council (SEC), said there was no going back unless the subsidy removal is reversed.

    Sanwo-Olu, Ndume, urge Labour to shelve plan

    But, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, urged the NLC to shelve the action.

    Speaking after a post-inauguration thanksgiving service at the Cathedral Church of Christ, he said: “This is not the time to go on strike. Recall that all presidential candidates said the first thing they will do is remove fuel subsidy. So what has changed? 

    “What has President Tinubu said or done that is different from what others would have done? The president has not even spent one week in office. 

    “We need to be very patient and reason together. Let us not make the issue about politics, but let’s support this man. We should allow him to go and reflect.

    “Strike will not resolve anything; it won’t address the issue. The point should be how to ensure a sustained turnaround in our economy…

    “So, I plead with the NLC to not turn the subsidy issue into a political one. The leadership should know they are leading people and so there is a need to restrain themselves. Let us be patient and work with the president.”

    Former Senate Leader, Mohammed Ali Ndume, also urged the NLC to call off the planned strike.

    He said: “This fuel subsidy removal is something we must do now or never. We need to open the wounds now and begin to heal them.

    “The NLC needs to work with the government and see how the effects can be minimised. If we don’t remove the subsidy now, some people will continue to milk this country. 

    “NLC should go to the negotiation table with the Federal Government.”

    But, Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, asked petroleum marketers to revert to the old price.

    In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, the governor said the marketers still had old stock that was supposed to be sold at the previous rate.

    “I am disheartened to see our dear people of Kano suffering as a result of an unjustified fuel hike, and the situation must be stopped right away,” Yusuf said.

    IPMAN predicts price crash

    The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) believes petrol prices will drop when more companies are licensed to import the product.

    Its Chairman Enugu Depot (comprising Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu), Chinedu Anyaso, said: “The competition that will begin in the coming days will surely ease the pain of high prices of products.”

    ‘Dialogue needed’

    Director General, Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS), Comrade Isa Aremu, called for continuous dialogue.

    He said: “What makes the current reform different is that there is a national consensus among all stakeholders that prohibitive costs of subsidising a single product (PMS) in the wake of declining public revenue and other national needs are unsustainable.”

    He added: “Neither policy reversal nor mass protest is an option. Genuine negotiation and social dialogue would make the deregulation policy a reality without compromising the welfare of the citizens concerning welfare and secured jobs.”

    National Chairman of Tinubu Support Network and Director-General of Amalgamated All Progressives Congress (APC) Support Groups, Kailani Muhammad, applauded President Tinubu for the prompt announcement of subsidy removal.

    Kailani, a former staff of the defunct Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), argued that if Tinubu had not announced the removal of the subsidy at the time he did, the oil cabals would have frustrated the effort as they did past administrations.

    At a briefing in Kaduna, he said: “This is the right decision because the immediate past administration shifted it. We have been postponing the evil day. A time has come for this country to measure up with the comity of nations.

    “Nigeria as a member of OPEC should enjoy gains that accrue from sales of oil to develop infrastructure, health, education, agriculture, etc.

    “I think we are good to go. Subsidy removal will increase competitiveness and prices will fall back. I believed he did it in a good fate.”

    Also, Chairman APC USA, Prof. Tai Balofin, urged Nigerians to trust President Tinubu to work out palliatives to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal.

    “I trust that the president will put some measures in place to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal so it does not go overboard,” he said.

    A chieftain of APC U.S.A, Mr Tunde Doherty, said the United Kingdom does not pay subsidies on its petroleum products.

    “In the UK today, we have Costco Oil selling for £1.3 and we have Sabre (Oil and Gas) selling for £1.7. So it is a liberalised economy with petrol.

    “There is no subsidy in the Diaspora and we enjoy fuel. We have never experienced fuel scarcity. The time for us to enjoy that Renewed Hope is here,” Doherty stressed. 

    ‘Provide palliatives’

    A former Minority Leader, Senator Biodun Olujimi, urged President Tinubu to roll out palliative measures to cushion the effects of subsidy removal on Nigerians.

    “Even though we want the subsidy to go, it should have been done in such a way that it won’t cause people unnecessary pain,” he said.

    A group, the Community of Advocacy for Positive Behavioural Patterns Initiative (AFPBPI), also called for palliative measures to ameliorate the effects on the masses while welcoming the policy.

    Its spokesman, Bamidele Mann, said in a statement: “We want you (President Tinubu) to protect and cushion the effect of the removal especially on the low incomes and youths to enable us to secure the right to an adequate standard of living and to avoid further hardship.”

  • Kudirat Abiola remembered 27 years after

    Kudirat Abiola remembered 27 years after

    Twenty-seven years after he was killed in controversial circumstances, the late Mrs. Kudirat Abiola was remembered yesterday by members of Wonem Arise.

    President of the group, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, saluted the efforts of the deceased, who fought for the return of democracy.

    In her tribute yesterday to the pro-democracy activist who was killed 27 years ago, Okei-Odumakin described the late Mrs. Kudirat as “a rare Amazon” that is greatly valued.

    Mrs. Kudirat Abiola was the wife of late winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief Moshood Abiola.

    She said: “Her memory is as lucid as the vision of all the glorious compatriots whom we were favoured to rub shoulders with in the face of fire.

    “Those who have gone ahead as the pantheon builds. The finest across generations of a beleaguered country.

     “Among such is Kudirat situated. In the strong spirit of duty and commitment to justice.”

    The right activist said that though it has been 27 years since Mrs. Abiola was killed, “the death is still fresh in the minds of pro-democracy activists.

    Mrs. Okei-Odumakin said that the deceased total dedication to justice still retained in memories.

    She said: “It is evergreen and as fresh as the day. The late Kudirat Abiola was killed fighting for justice, for defining womanhood, dignity and humanity.

    “She walked right, would not run nor flinch but was killed for asking for justice.”

    Mrs. Okei-Odumakin told the people not to forget those who fought for justice and democracy.

    “Some swam in sweat. Some bled and some died. Kudirat died among others who have taken seats in Valhalla,” Mrs. Okei-Odumakin said.

  • Why Nigeria Air cannot fly now

    Why Nigeria Air cannot fly now

    Controversial Nigeria Air may not take off for now going by latest information from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

    NCAA, in a statement, said that the promoters of the airline — the Federal Government and Ethiopian Airlines — did not go beyond one out of the five steps required for the issuance of the all-important Air Operators’ Certificate (AOC).

    According to regulatory requirements, any start-up carrier billed for scheduled domestic service ought to scale through the five processes before  AOC could be issued by NCAA.

    An Aviation expert told The Nation yesterday that there are five phases involved in getting an AOC. 

    Stage one is the pre-application phase where the NCAA will appoint a certification team and process the pre-application statement of intent form (AC-OPS 001).

    In this first stage, discussions on all regulatory requirements, the formal application and attachments and any other related issues will take place. 

    This is the stage the Nigeria Air promoters got to but did not proceed further before the time(one week) limit expired. 

    The second stage involves a formal application for intending entrants where documents and manuals (including the curricula vitae of key management personnel) must be submitted for evaluation. The minimum timeframe for this phase is two weeks.

    *Stage three involves document evaluation where the NCAA   reviews the applicant’s manuals and other related documents and attachments to ensure conformity with the applicable regulations and safe operating practices. The minimum time frame for the document evaluation phase is three months.

    Phase four is demonstration and inspection. This is a key stage of the process carried out only after a satisfactory documentation evaluation phase. In this stage, a thorough audit by the certification team at the applicant’s premises is conducted to ensure that the proposed procedures are effective and that the applicant’s facilities and equipment meet  NCAA’s regulatory requirements.

    Also at this stage, other demonstrations like emergency evacuation and ditching will be carried out and after successes in these exercises,  a demonstration flight will be carried out.

    The minimum time frame for the demonstration and inspection phase is two months.

    The fifth and final phase is certification. Once the airline has met the regulatory requirements of the Civil Aviation (Air Navigation) Regulations,  NCAA will issue the AOC with the appropriate specifications and ratings.

    The minimum time frame for the certification phase is one week. It is after the issuance of the AOC that the applicant can engage in commercial aviation activities in Nigeria.

    The source said since the promoters of Nigeria Air did not go beyond stage one of the application process before its expiration, it has to begin afresh.

    This, according to him, informed NCAA’s letter to  Nigeria Air management that they cannot proceed to the second stage without certain documents.  

    The letter marked  NCAA/DOLTS/GEN/Vol. III/16123  and titled “Re: Request to proceed to phase two of AOC certification,” the regulatory agency was dated June 2, 2023.

    It reads:  “The authority is in receipt of your letter dated 25th May 2023 on the above subject matter. Quite contrary to our earlier letter of 16th May 2023 which enumerated the documents to be submitted with the formal application form OPS 002, your letter of request to proceed to phase two has no inclusion of a formal application form and the necessary documents referenced in the formal application form.

    “The certification process cannot progress to phase two without these required documents. Please be reminded that your post holders’ letters of commitment to Nigeria Air have a tenure of three  months and as such expires now.”

    Ten days ago, the Ministry of Aviation flew a Boeing 737 – 800 aircraft with the logo and livery of Nigeria Air as evidence of the airline’s plans for take-off.

    Investigations revealed that former Aviation Minister  Hadi Sirika convinced Ethiopian Airlines to paint one of their aircraft in the colours of Nigeria and logo, with allegations that the move was meant to pull the wool over the eyes of Nigerians.

    The aircraft, after touching down at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, returned to Addis Ababa some hours after.

    The aircraft with the registration number ET-APL  had flown to Turkey, Somalia, Mogadishu and other routes according to various flight tracking applications.

    Last week, the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation summoned the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aviation,  Emmanuel Meribole, to an emergency meeting over the project.

    The committee, headed by Nnolim Nnaji, directed Meribole to come along with every document and personnel connected with the proposed national carrier.

    In an invitation memo by its Clerk, Bassy Edem, dated May 30, 2023, and referenced NASS/9/HR17/120, the committee also invited others who had roles to play in the project.

    The memo reads: “Last Friday, May 26, 2023, the nation was awash with viral reports and videos of the unveiling of the Nigeria Air project under very controversial circumstances.

    “As a committee of the parliament saddled with the responsibility of overseeing the aviation sector of the economy, we deem it necessary to be fully briefed about the project.”

    A few weeks ago, solicitors of the umbrella body of local carriers – Airline Operators of  Nigeria (AON) – Nureini Jimoh Chambers— wrote to the Federal Government to stop   Sirika from going ahead with the launch of   Nigeria Air.

    The solicitors described Sirika’s plan as a deliberate infraction of  Nigerian laws and self-enrichment, mainly against the  Ministry of Aviation.

  • OPEC agrees on production cut to stabilise oil prices

    OPEC agrees on production cut to stabilise oil prices

    The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known as OPEC+,   yesterday, agreed to a general production cut for next year and the extension of voluntary cuts by members to stabilise crude oil prices.

    The organisation and its allies agreed to reduce overall production targets between January and December 2024 by  1.4 million barrels per day (bpd). With the reduction,   total production by OPEC and non-OPEC members will stand at  40.463 million bpd.

    After the decision was agreed upon, Saudi Arabia,   the highest production quota,     announced a production cut of one million bpd starting from next month.

    Other members also accepted to extend earlier cuts till the end of next year.

    Saudi’s output is expected to drop to some nine million bpd as against some 10 million bpd recorded last month.

    The schedule of production level agreed at the end of the 35th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting in Vienna, Austria showed a production quota of 1.38 million bpd for Nigeria for next year, the eighth highest among the 20-member group.

    Saudi Arabia has the highest at 10.5 million bpd, followed by Russia with 9.83 million bpd. Sudan has the lowest target of 64,000 bpd

    In a communique issued at the end of the meeting, OPEC+ stated that the decisions were aimed at achieving and sustaining a stable oil market.

    The cartel, which also welcomed the establishment of Dangote Refinery in Nigeria as well as two others in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia,  explained that the production cuts and targets were taken as a precautious, proactive and pre-emptive approach.

    The meeting decided to adjust the level of overall crude oil production for OPEC and non-OPEC participating countries to 40.46 mb/d, starting   January 1   till  December next year.

    A breakdown of the required production level also shows Algeria, 1.007 million bpd; Angola, 1.3 million bpd; Congo, 276,000 bpd; Equatorial Guinea, 70,000 bpd; Gabon, 177,000 bpd; Iraq, 4.4m million bpd; Kuwait, 2.7  million bpd; Nigeria, 1.38 million bpd; United Arab Emirates (UAE), 3.22 million bpd; Azerbaijan, 551,000 bpd; Bahrain, 196,000 bpd; Brunei, 83,000 bpd; Kazakhstan, 1.63 million bpd; Malaysia, 401,000 bpd; Mexico, 1.8 million bpd; Oman, 841,000 bpd; Russia, 9.8  million bpd; Sudan, 64,000 bpd and South Sudan,   124,000 bpd.

    The meeting reaffirmed and extended the mandate of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) and its membership to closely review global oil market conditions, oil production levels and the level of conformity.

    The meeting reiterated “the critical importance of adhering to full conformity, and subscribing to the concept of compensation by those countries who produce above the required production level”, in addition to their already decided production levels.

    The 36th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting is scheduled to hold on November 26, 2023, in Vienna.

    OPEC Secretary General, Haitham Al Ghais, had underlined the importance of enhancing refining capacity globally to meet the growing demand for oil products.

    Al Ghais spoke at the 13th Technical Meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC countries participating in the Charter of Cooperation (CoC).

    He praised OPEC member countries for their exceptional efforts in expanding their refining capacities by constructing refineries in  Kuwait,  Nigeria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

    The OPEC boss also highlighted the importance of the technical discussions between OPEC Member Countries and non-OPEC countries of the CoC.

    “As usual, this meeting has been organized for the technical experts of OPEC and participating non-OPEC producing countries and is centred on providing an opportunity to exchange views on key factors impacting oil market developments,” Al Ghais stated.

  • Akeredolu woos Russian investors on Deep Seaport, agriculture

    Akeredolu woos Russian investors on Deep Seaport, agriculture

    Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has urged the Russian Business Society to explore the untapped market of Nigeria and Ondo State in particular, especially in areas of diaspora estate, agriculture, oil and gas and the Port Ondo.

    Governor Akeredolu said Russia has a lot to gain from the partnership forum, especially in Nigeria, which hosts the largest market on the African continent.

    Akeredolu spoke at the first Export-Day Forum, organised by Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) Europe, held at Moscow export centre, Russia.

    A statement by his media officer, Debbie Funmilayo, said the governor was represented by Commissioner for Regional Integration and Diaspora Relations, Prince Boye Ologbese.

    According to him, there were many promising areas of co-operation between Russia and Ondo State, noting that his administration was committed to creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive without impediment.

    The governor listed adequate security of lives and property, infrastructure, skilled and available workforce, reliable legal framework and considerate investment policies by the government as incentives for businesses to thrive.

    The statement reads: “As the largest producer of cocoa in Nigeria, there are vast opportunities for production and processing; Oil palm and palm kernel, cassava, yams, rice, maize, cocoyam, sugarcane, fish, crayfish and other exotic seafood are available.

    “Ondo State recently got its license to operate the Deep Seaport. Investors are welcome to support in the construction of the Port, offshore logistics and coastal road development which is intended to be funded through Public Private Partnerships (PPP). Also, it has the potential to become the maritime hub in West Africa due to its long coastline of 180km with natural depths of 14m-18m.

    “Another area is in Oil and Gas equipment, and equipment for geo-exploration. It calls for industries that have the required tools and technologies used for oil and gas exploration to make themselves available to provide essential services.

    “Finally, the construction of a Diaspora estate with top-notch facilities is intended to be fostered through Diaspora Direct Investment (DDI), necessary to play hospitality to foreign investors and diaspora who may choose to come for vacation.”

    Chairman NIDO Russia and Member of the Board NIDO Europe, Sampson Uwem-Edimo, noted that the Russian Chapter of Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) are delighted to establish a platform whereby diaspora investors could interact with potential sponsors, partners and government to consolidate and build momentum on workable partnerships.

  • N3.4b debt: Makinde asks Appeal Court to review Supreme Court’s decision

    N3.4b debt: Makinde asks Appeal Court to review Supreme Court’s decision

    Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has approached the Court of Appeal to review a judgment by the Supreme Court which mandated him to pay the salaries and allowances of local government chairmen and councilors he unlawful sacked upon assuming office on May 29, 2019.

    Makinde’s request is contained in a fresh motion and notice of appeal filed along with the state Attorney-General and five others, before the Court of Appeal in Abuja.

    In both fillings, Makinde and others want the appellate court to, among others, reverse the orders of April 27 made by Justice A. O. Ebong of an Abuja High Court in furtherance of the May 7, 2021 Supreme Court judgment.

    The ex-council officials, led by Mojeed Ajuwan, challenged their sack up to the Supreme Court which, in its the May 7, 2021 judgment, declared their sack as unlawful, less than 19 months to their three-year tenure.

    The court ordered that their salaries and allowances be paid for the balance of the period from May 29, 2019 ending till May 11 2032, when their tenures would have ended. It also awarded N20 million against Makinde, in favour of the sacked officials.

    Makinde had agreed to pay the officials N4.8874 billion, of which he paid only N1.5 million in 2022, leaving N3.374 billion outstanding. And instead of paying the outstanding judgment debt, he applied to be allowed to pay the outstanding in instalments of N300 million every six months, a proposal Ajuwon and other judgment creditors objected to.

    In a ruling on April 27, Justice Ebong granted Makinde’s prayer to pay in instalments, but varied his payment plan on the grounds that if allowed to pay his way, it will take him six years to fully defray the debt. He therefore ordered the state’s banker to pay the initial N1.374 billion and the balance of N2 billion in instalments of N500 million every six months, with the first instalment payable on July 31, 2023.

    It is this ruling that Makinde has appealed and applied to be stayed in a notice of appeal and motion on notice filed recently before the Court of Appeal in Abuja. He is praying the appellate court to, among others, stay the execution of the judgment pending the determination of the appeal.

    In the notice of appeal, Makinde wants the court to reverse the ruling, arguing that the state has no resources to pay as ordered by the court. He said the state will be unable to meet its obligations should the order be executed as made.

    But Ajuwon and others said Makinde’s action is targeted at undermining the Supreme Court’s judgment. They also filed a cross-appeal, faulting the governor’s claim, and saying the state has the capacity to pay the debt, having not shown by credible documentary evidence that it was bankrupt.

  • It is unpatriotic to hoard petrol, says don

    It is unpatriotic to hoard petrol, says don

    A Professor of Energy and Electricity Law at the University of Lagos, Yemi Oke, has chided unpatriotic petrol dealers hoarding the product following the removal of fuel subsidy.

    “It is unpatriotic and will certainly become counter-productive for any marketer to attempt or contemplate hoarding of petroleum products, or PMS to be precise,” Oke said.

    The don, in a statement yesterday, clarified that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu did not remove petroleum subsidy. He restated that the subsidy was removed by his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, who set June as the deadline.

    According to him, Tinubu simply emphasised that the current supplementary budget even makes no provisions for subsidy beyond June.

    The statement reads: “It is risky for any marketer to attempt to hoard the product because the new regime allows marketers to bring in products and sell as rates suitable to them, which may even drive prices lower. Deregulated petroleum regime simply means that any prudent marketer can bring-in products, and may sell at cheaper rates to edge-out unscrupulous, greedy and unpatriotic marketers.

    “The margin of subsidised petroleum and open-market rates is not as substantial, and may even be sold at slightly cheaper rates compared to the current rate. Also lending credence to the likelihood of market forces throwing-up slightly cheaper or moderately higher petroleum products rates is the recently commissioned Dangote Refineries.

    “Nigerians should definitely expect an abundance of petroleum products, particularly PMS, and will diligently manage their consumption patterns. Market structures will modulate prices and may drive supply ‘high (northwards) and prices ‘low’ (southwards).

    “Business prudence demands that the current supplies should not be distorted by unpatriotic marketers who might want to create needless artificial scarcity. Doing this will surely be counterproductive aside from being criminal and reprehensible.”