The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Fan Ndubuoke

  • NCAA suspends ASKY Airlines operations

    NCAA suspends ASKY Airlines operations

    The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) suspended yesterday all ASky Airline operations to Nigeria.

    A statement by NCAA’s General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr. Fan Ndubuoke, said the suspension took immediate effect.

    According to him, NCAA Acting Director-General, Mr. Benedict Adeyileka explained that the regulatory authority had to take the action to protect Nigerians from the Ebola virus.

    ASky Airline is a major player in the West, East and Central Africa operating 80 flights into Lagos and Abuja weekly.

    The Airline flew the Liberian who was obviously infected with the virus, into Lagos.

    The NCAA DG said, “The passenger has since died and the Country Manager of ASky was invited to the Aviation House to offer explanation to the Authority on the incident and show evidence of actions taken by  the airline since the pandemic in their core areas of operation and after.

    “The Airline representative could not offer any conclusive or substantial evidence neither did he demonstrate any capacity to be able to prevent a re-occurrence or possibly ship loading Ebola victims to Nigeria.

    “This is contrary to the provision of Article 14 of the Chicago Convention,1944, which states that “Each contracting State agrees to take effective measures to prevent the spread by means of air navigation, of cholera, typhus (epidemic),smallpox, yellow fever, plague and such other communicable diseases as the contracting state shall from time to time decide to designate.”

    The statement added that Adeliyeka said the International Civil Aviation Organisation has similarly prescribed measures (Standard Practices) in Annex 9 to the Convention which a state must take to prevent the spread of communicable disease in the event of an outbreak.

    “The Acting Director General and the top management of NCAA therefore decided that the lives of millions of Nigerians were too precious to be risked on a platter of negligence of an airline.

    “The Airline operations was therefore suspended with immediate effect until it is able to sufficiently and evidently prove that adequate machinery is in place to provide adequate screening of passengers in all their points of operation including profiling of each passenger,” it said.

    The statement added that the Authority will also write to other airlines operating into and out of Nigeria to ensure they put in place all necessary preventive measures during screening of passengers which will include indicating countries earlier visited by the passengers.

    Arik Air which had earlier suspended flights to Monrovia and Freetown was advised to maintain the cessation of flights until cleared by the NCAA.

  • NCAA clamps down on illegal structures

    The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has concluded plans to clamp down on all unauthorized high rise structures erected on flight paths across the nation’s airspace

    The structures include telecommunications masts, towers and high rise buildings built without obtaining aviation height clearance from the NCAA.

    According to the General Manager, Public Affairs for NCAA, Mr. Fan Ndubuoke , the authority is embarking on the  action to ensure the  safety of all aircraft at our various airports in the country.

    Ndubuoke said investigations by the NCAA revealed that the structures constitute obstacle to approach and descent to the airports for aircraft.

    To prevent any untoward consequences, the regulatory authority, he said  has  appointed Messrs Noon Mast Ventures Nigeria Limited to commence a nationwide identification of such erections and  pull down all such illegal structures within the airport environment and along the flight paths.

    According to NCAA’s regulation, those who are compelled by whatever reason to erect a mast or high rise structure within the airport environment and along flight paths are required to contact NCAA to obtain the appropriate Aviation Height Clearance.

     

  • Heartland chairman Ndubuoke sacked

    Heartland chairman Ndubuoke sacked

    The Imo State Government has sacked Heartland chairman, Fan Ndubuoke and replaced him with businessman Ibeh Okechukwu.

    Goal reports that Ndubuoke is still recuperating from the road crash he was involved in when the announcement was made.

    The Owerri side was in crisis before the advent of Ndubuoke’s regime and his businesslike approach helped rejuvenate the side.

    The highlight of Ndubuoke’s tenure as Heartland helmsman came in 2011 when the team lifted the Federation Cup at the expense of Enyimba of Aba and successfully defended it the following season after defeating Lobi Stars at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos.

    Announcing the sack of Ndubuoke and the unveiling of the new helmsman, the Imo State Commissioner for Youth and Sport, Kenneth Emelu, said the appointment was made in tandem with Governor Rochas Okorocha’s directive that all heads of government parastatals in the state be changed with immediate effect.

    He described Ndubuoke as a good man but reckoned that the directive from the state governor cannot be ignored because violation could come with dire consequences.

  • Ndubuoke waves off CAF conspiracy claims

    Ndubuoke waves off CAF conspiracy claims

    Heartland chairman, Fan Ndubuoke has insisted that Ivorian and Manchester City midfielder, Yaya Toure is the best candidate for the 2013 Glo/CAF African Footballer of the Year award.

    Toure edged Nigerian and Chelsea midfielder, John Obi Mikel and Didier Drogba for the coveted award in last Thursday’s awards ceremony in Lagos.

    Some angry Nigerians have continued to question the credibility of the voting system that chose Toure ahead of their favoured candidate, Mikel for the best player gong.

    However, Ndubuoke asked the disagreeing Nigerians to exercise caution so that they do not unknowingly pull down the edifice they toiled for years to set up because certain decisions did not go their way.

    “I bluntly refuse to share in the conspiracy theory being advocated by some disappointed Nigerians over the award of Glo/CAF Footballer of the Year award to Yaya Toure instead of John Obi Mikel. I equally disagree with the call for a review of the voting system that produces the winners of the awards.

    “If Yaya Toure had been a Nigerian would anybody rightly say John Obi Mikel is the best candidate for the award? Glo/CAF African Footballer of the Year is strictly an individual award, I don’t think any unbiased person will vote Mikel ahead of Toure in the year in view.

    “Toure is in his own world and rightly won the award. I don’t share the misguided sentiment that CAF is dominated by the French-speaking countries which explained the uneven votes in favour of the Ivorian.

    “BBC which is dominated by English-speaking persons prior to the CAF awards voted overwhelmingly for Toure as BBC Africa Player of the Year.

    “The fallout of the 2013 FIFA Ballon D’Or agreed with my viewpoint, Portugal and Real Madrid didn’t win anything in 2013 but Cristiano Ronaldo was voted the Player of the Year ahead of Lionel Messi and Franck Ribery.

    “This is an award dominated by Nigerians in the past with French-speaking countries voting, we have to be careful the way we express our feelings on issues disagreeable with our likes more so as 100% Nigerian company is involved.

    “Toure dominated the football scene last year, I don’t know about this year and we must queue behind a credible winner. I like Mikel as a person, he performed creditably well for country and club but he competed and was squarely beaten by a superior opponent,” Ndubuoke said to supersport.com.

    Ndubuoke said there is a clear lesson to learn from the 2013 Glo/CAF awards.

    “There is a lesson we can always pick from the 2013 Glo/CAF awards and that is we’re coming back to reclaiming our lost glories and I think it won’t be proper for us to try to get it through the back door,” Ndubuoke said.

  • Ndubuoke: Eagles lack creative playmakers

    Heartland chairman, Fan Ndubuoke has said Super Eagles’ final World Cup qualifying match against the Walya Antelopes of Ethiopia exposed the side as clearly lacking creative midfielders.

    The Eagles defeated their East African opponents 2-0 to qualify for the global football showpiece in Brazil on 4-1 aggregate.

    Ndubuoke who congratulated the side for clinching the World Cup ticket said if the side is not to merely add up to the numbers in Brazil, immediate surgical operation aimed at strengthening the side must be done forthwith.

    “I’ve congratulated the Eagles for qualifying the country for the World Cup but for us to have a meaningful outing in Brazil the team must be tinkered with from what it’s at present.

    “The crop of Eagles we saw against Ethiopia on Saturday in Calabar lacked pace, cohesion, ball sense, among others.

    “Keshi must immediately start shopping for more players both on the home front and outside, I don’t think it makes sense to insist that Golden Eaglets must grow through the ranks before being integrated into the Super Eagles when some of them can comfortably fit into the leaking ends of the side.

    “We don’t have a point man in the Eagles right now except Emmanuel Emenike and no creative playmaker in the shape of Austin Okocha and kanu Nwankwo.

    “But we have have a naturally endowed creative playmaker in Golden Eaglets’ whiz kid, Kelechi Iheanacho. Nobody plays Iheanacho’s role in the present Super Eagles who can masterfully create chances for attackers to score.

    “I’m not insisting it must be Kelechi Iheanacho rather that there are hundreds of Iheanachos available that the Eagles can profit from and become a world beater. We have the Eaglets’ captain, Musa Mohammed and Isaac Success around us to leverage on further insistence they must graduate from the Under-20 to Under-23 then to Super Eagles appears to me as self deceptive.

  • Heartland commence pre-season activities

    Heartland commence pre-season activities

    Heartland FC of Owerri said their off season period will be officially over by 12 midnight today, November 12, 2013 and that preparations for the 2013/14 football season will be on full swing at the Old stadium ground, Owerri the following morning.

    A statement from the club’s Media and Public Relations Department on Sunday, said the management team had held a meeting over the weekend during which time it approved a programme submitted by the technical crew led by Coach Ramson Madu.

    According to the statement, trial of new players will commence at the Old Stadium ground, Tetlow Road by 7.30 tomorrow morning and will run through to the coming weekend.

    However, the main camp at Naze would be opened on Friday November 15, 2013 to welcome old players of the team who had been on holidays since the end of last season on October 20, 2013.

    The statement explained that old players of the team who failed to return by Monday November 18, 2013 would be deemed to have left the club.

    The meeting which was presided over by club Chairman, Chief Fan Ndubuoke however reminded that the club as a policy does not accept inducement of any kind nor does it succumb to intimidation and favouritism in recruitment of players.

    Meanwhile, Heartland FC said they have not engaged any new technical adviser whether local or foreign as being speculated in some media.