The Nation Newspaper

Tag: KELVIN OSA-OKUNBOR

  • Lagos: Factional NLC protest disrupts aviation activities

    Lagos: Factional NLC protest disrupts aviation activities

    • Airlines operate skeletal flights amid cancellation
    Unions in the aviation industry yesterday joined factional wing of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), acting under the aegis of Joint Action Front to disrupt vehicular and passenger activities around the Lagos Airport as part of protest against the deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry.
    The unions are the National Union of Airport Transport Employees (NUATE) and the Association of Senior Services Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN).
    This is just as they threatened to shut down the Lagos Airport on Thursday, should government fail to reverse the increase in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol.
    The factional wing of NLC, led other protesters to block major roads leading into the Lagos Airport occasioning traffic gridlock on the Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Ikeja.
    They took possession on the road in the early hours thus depriving limousine cab operators from taking passengers and airport workers to the airport.
    Besides the protest, some domestic carriers including DANA Air, Arik, Aero, First Nation Airways, Med-View operated skeletal services.
    Most of them had to cancel or re-schedule flights because of limited passengers.
    Most of the aviation agencies including the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), opened their offices for normal activities.

  • Lack of suitable interpreter stalls trail of Four accused Mexicans

  • Delta communal clash: Peace committee inaugurated

    The Chairman of Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State, Sir Itiako C. Ikpokpo, has inaugurated a Peace Committee to work towards reconciling the Okpolo-Enwhe and Igbide communities both of Isoko South Local Government following clashes last week that  claimed lives and properties.

    The peace committee comprises the President General of the Isoko Development Union (I.D.U), Chief Iduh Amadhe as Chairman, Mr Kola Obrogo who will serve as the secretary of the Committee, the Odion-Ologbo of Oleh Kingdom, the Ovie of  Ozoro, Rt Revd John Usiwoma Aruakpor, Bishop of Oleh Diocese, Anglican Communion, five representatives each from Igbide and Okpolo Enwhe communities as well as representatives of the security agencies.
    According to local sources, the clashes broke out when militant youths from the Okpolo-Enwhe community allegedly attacked their Igbide neighbours. Although the immediate reason for the attack is unknown, both communities have been locked in an age long farm-land dispute.
    A source from one of the communities, Igbide, claimed that the community indigenes had endured severe harassment from the Okpolo-Enwhe people for some time prior to the attack all in a bid to provoke a crisis.
    “On the night of the 5th May 2016 spanning the next three days the Okpolo-Enwhe people launched attacks on Igbide clan first at Ekpo- Igbide and at Owodokpokpo-Igbide, far from the area of conflict.

    The Igbide allege that two of their indigenes, Oghenekaro Ogbo and Okorofa Erobi were abducted and killed by the rampaging Okpolo-Enwhe militants. Houses were vandalized including the Church of God Mission at Owodokpokpo-Igbide.

    Local sources also confirmed several houses vandalized and burnt at Okpolo-Enwhe community apparently in reprisal attacks by Igbide people.

    Presently, tensions remain high in both communities in spite of the deployment of the military who have restored calm to the troubled area.

  • Aviation fuel scarcity disrupts flights

    Aviation fuel scarcity disrupts flights

    • IATA, stakeholders to discuss jet fuel challenges in Nigeria
    Scarcity of aviation fuel yesterday disrupted flights at airports nationwide.
    Many domestic carriers including DANA Air had their flights between Lagos and Uyo rescheduled  due to the scarcity of JetA -1, another name for aviation.
    Passengers at airport terminals had to wait for hours to meet up with rescheduled flights.
    At the Lagos Airport flights were also adjusted.
    Worried over the trend, an operator in the oil and gas sector: CITA Petroleum  Limited will today hold a stakeholders meeting on jet fuel supply in Nigeria.
    The meeting will in Lagos as a platform to proffer a solution that will remove all identified challenges.
    According to a statement by the Chief Executive Officer of CITA, Mr Thomas Ogungbangbe, the meeting will provide stakeholders the opportunity to solve the current supply difficulties in Nigeria and propose solutions against re- occurrence which will have spiral effects on Nigeria’s status as a major hub of the aviation fuel industry in West Africa.
    He  said the International Air Transport Association (IATA),  Manager,  in charge of Commercial Fuel Campaigns, Mr Gerardo Mesias  will attend the meeting to consider implementation of a short term measure to effectively manage supply disruptions as they may occur.
    The meeting will also explore the necessity to plan long term solutions on how to enhance the jet fuel supply chain from-marine terminals to Nigerian airports.

  • Airspace violation: NCAA to sanction illegal drone operators

    • Issues safety guidelines

    The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has warned over growing proliferation of the use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), otherwise known as drones in the airspace.
    The NCAA said the useof drones without approval/ permit in the Nigerian airspace constitutes threat to safety,
    It  has,  however, issued safety guidelines over the use of the equipment in the airspace without permission.
    Spokesman for NCAA, Sam Adurogboye in a statement yesterday  said in recent times, RPA/UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) are being deployed for commercial and recreational purposes in the country without adequate security
    clearance.
    He noted that with the preponderance of these operations particularly in a non – segregated airspace, there has to be proactive safety guidelines.
    The authority further stated that the development of the use of RPA nationwide has emerged with somewhat predictable safety concerns and security threats.
    He said: “The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is yet to publish Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs), as far as certification and operation of civil use of RPA is concerned.”
    He noted that the NCAA has therefore put in place Regulations/Advisory Circular to guide the certification and operations of civil RPA in the Nigerian airspace.
    “This is contained in the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs 2015 Part 8.8.1.33) and Implementing
    Standards (Nig.CARs 2015 Part IS.8.8.1.33).
    “Therefore no government agency, organisation or an individual will launch an RPA/UAV in the Nigerian airspace for any purpose whatsoever without obtaining requisite approvals/permit from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority
    (NCAA) and Office of National Security Adviser (NSA),” he added.
    Adurogboye reiterate that all applicants and holders of permits to operate RPA/Drones must strictly be guided by safety guidelines.
    In addition, he said operators must ensure strict compliance with the conditions stipulated in their permits and the requirements of the Nig.CARs.
    Violators shall be sanctioned according to the dictates of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations.

  • Cocaine: NDLEA rescues two traffickers, arrests three others

    Cocaine: NDLEA rescues two traffickers, arrests three others

  • NDLEA discovers cocaine in sweets wraps, arrests two suspects

    NDLEA discovers cocaine in sweets wraps, arrests two suspects

    The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has discovered one hundred and ninety-three (193) wraps of cocaine inside packs of sweets at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos.

    The whitish substance concealed in sweets tested positive for cocaine and weighed 3.230kgs. Anti-narcotics officials discovered the drugs in the luggage of a twenty-four year-old female passenger from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. A suspected member of the drug cartel was also arrested.

    NDLEA commander at the Lagos Airport, Mr. Ahmadu Garba said that the suspect who hails from Edo State was found in possession of the drug while a suspected member of the drug cartel in Lagos was successfully traced and apprehended.

    “One Igbainoba Uche Rose, who concealed 3.230kgs inside sweets was apprehended at the arrival hall during inward screening of passengers. A suspected member of the cartel, Ofor Kamsochukwu Chimezie was arrested on a follow-up operation. The suspects are being investigated,” Garba stated.

    During interrogation, Rose said that she works as a clerical officer after her secondary school. “I work as a clerical staff after I completed my primary school because there was no money to further my studies. I have suffered hardship in life, but a man offered to assist me establish my personal business. He promised to pay me half a million Naira. This was how I got involved in this problem” Rose said.

    Chairman and Chief Executive of NDLEA, Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah warned drug traffickers to desist from their criminal acts. “Drug criminals should shun their unlawful act because the Agency has perfected strategies to detect narcotics notwithstanding how cleverly they were concealed. Recent drug seizures clearly reflect the reformation of the NDLEA as an intelligence-led organization. We are determined to trace major traffickers behind the scene and prosecute the barons” Abdallah warned.

    The NDLEA Chairman assured Nigerians that no drug trafficker will go unpunished. In his words, “we are working hard to perfect the practice of aggressive follow-up on every case from the first to the last person behind every case of drug trafficking. Drug barons shall have no escape route. This way, drug trafficking will either be drastically reduced or completely eliminated from our society”.

  • Custom, FAAN staff scuffle: NCS begins investigations

    Custom, FAAN staff scuffle: NCS begins investigations

    The Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Command of Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has commenced investigations into the incident involving one of its officers and a staff of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), over clash of right of way near the Palace Gate of the Cargo Terminal.
    The investigation, the spokesperson of the Nigerian Customs Service Airport Command, Thelma Williams said has become imperative  to establish the veracity of the claim by a staff of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), that a  Customs officer attacked him near the Palace Gate over right of way on the Road leading into the Cargo Terminal.
    She said preliminary findings by the Customs has revealed that the Officer was not trying to gain access into the Palace Gate as alleged by the FAAN staff.
    But, the officer had made a turn towards the Hajj Camp axis of the road, when the FAAN staff in company of others blocked his car.
    This is just as she said the Customs Officer was at no time taken to the Airport Police Station over the matter, but, reported the matter officially.
    Williams said it is important to clear the air on the matter because of information being pushed out to the public that the Customs Officer battered the FAAN staff and damaged his car.
    She gave account of the incident: “At no time did our officer try or attempt to access the monument gate as being alleged. Rather the officer in question veered off the road to drop off a friend only to be barricaded by a FAAN staff in the company of four other FAAN workers.
    “He tried to inquire the reason for the barricade and this led to an argument which further culminated into a scuffle.
    “There was never a point that our officer was taken to the Police station as reported in the press. The incident was actually a misunderstanding of right of use of way on the Airport Boulevard.”

  • AON pledges to pay NCAA all unremitted funds in full

    The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has pledged to ensure that all outstanding debts are paid to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) as agreed.
    This assurance was given during a meeting between the management of the regulatory authority led by the director general, Capt. Muhtar Usman and the Airline Operators at the NCAA Conference Room yesterday .
    Speaking on behalf of the operators, the AON Chairman, Capt. Noggie Meggison remarked that it is incontrovertible that operators are heavily indebted but promised that all unremitted funds will be fully paid.
    He thanked the  director general for holding a series of meetings with all operators, a move he said was long expected. Meggison therefore requested for similar fora¨ where the Authority’s vision will be properly articulated from time to time to enable us key into it.’’
    He, however, called for a retreat where stakeholders will meet to brainstorm on some knotty challenges which operators and the entire industry is confronted with.
    In his response, Capt.Usman enjoined the airlines to comply as agreed because the issue of Ticket and Cargo Sales Charges is sacrosanct. According to him, this is to enable the Authority and other benefiting Agencies effectively carry out its regulatory and Statutory responsibilities.
    The Director General and the NCAA management emphasized the need for automation by operators which will offer real-time and transparent transaction. He directed that all reconciliations must be done within the 60 days window provided.
    He advised the operators to forward all required documentations to verify conflicting claims.
    Capt. Usman admonished the operators to be alive to their responsibilities and challenges.
    He urged operators to take advantage of various Bilateral Air Services Agreements (BASA) entered into by the federal government to compete with their foreign counterparts thereby generating the much needed foreign exchange.
    Usman assured the operators that there will be a broader stakeholders’ forum very soon where various grievances could be looked into and addressed and charge the operators to fully embrace the automation  for the sake of transparency and an end to discrepancy over figures forthwith.
    Over 20 airlines chief executives and their representatives attended the meeting. These include Arik Air, Medview, FirstNation, Chanchangi, Kings Airlines, Overland among others some of who also contributed richly to the issue of the day while the meeting lasted.

  • Aviation Security: Expert calls for coordinated intelligence gathering

    Aviation Security: Expert calls for coordinated intelligence gathering

    Member of aviation industry think tank group, Aviation Round Table (ART) and Chief Executive of Centurion Securities, Group Captain John Ojikutu (RTD) has said that to evade what transpired at Brussels Airport where terrorists detonated explosives at the airport, there is a need to coordinate intelligence and security efforts by gathering and adequately sharing information across board.
    In an interview  former airport commandant emphasized that the lessons from Brussels Airport goes beyond airport security calling for a national aviation security policy which emphasizes the role of intelligence in the gamut.
    Ojikutu said  ”The lessons from the Brussels terrorist attack is beyond airport security alone. It is more about national aviation security and the role of intelligence in the aviation security defence layers.”
    “It is about having names of valuable targets among the homegrown terrorists Boko Haram  listed on watch list or no fly list. Remember, it took us about  eight  years before we could start putting faces on those within the domestic terrorist cell before the military started putting those faces and names on the watch list.”
    “The question we must be asking the responsible authorities is; are those on the military watch list on the watch list for aviation security or have the list shared with responsible authorities at d airports on need to know?”
    “It is about intelligence or security agencies sharing names on d watch list with airlines and airport operators; it is about the immigration services sharing passengers names records with other countries on the principle of reciprocity as it is between done between US and European countries; it is about airlines having a system for advance passenger information services at the departure airport and sharing the information with destination airport. These are intelligence networks.”
    He went on,” Secondly, because the airport passenger terminal hall is a public area and therefore a soft target, we now need screening machines at all access gates into d terminal halls with capability for detecting improvised explosive vapour.”
    “We must be very concerned now about insider’s threats and must regularly conduct background checks on all staff working in d airport security controlled areas. These intelligence work are not necessarily the job for sniffer dogs’.
    “The Close Circuit Television (CCTV) is a good complement to airport security only if it can pre-empt the act of terror attack and not after the attack as it is now playing out in Brussels and had played out in other terror attacks before it in the 9/11, London, Milan and Paris attacks.”
    On the recent figures estimated by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) stating that Federal Government would need to invest at least N25 billion to construct perimeter and operational fences across all the 22 government operated airports, he said it may be reasonable if it is spent where applicable and not a means of siphoning funds elsewhere.
    The security expert said,”N25billion may just be reasonable for providing perimeter and security fences for the nation’s 22 airports if and only if we seriously identify the difference between the two: ICAO, TSA & IATA lay emphasis on security fence (Annex 17) than perimeter fence (Annex 14).”