The Nation Newspaper

Tag: loses

  • Audu Ogbeh loses mum

    •Deputy Governor visits family

    Benue State Deputy Governor Benson Abounu has condoled with the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, who lost his mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Egbi Ogbeh, last night.

    Abounu, an engineer, who was at the Otukpo home of the minister, enjoined the family to bear the loss with fortitude.

    He was accompanied by his wife, Justice May Abounu and top politicians, among them the All Progressives Congress (APC) Zonal Chairman, Comrade Hassan Mohammed, Chief of Staff to the Deputy Governor, Mr. Abel Ikwom and Otukpo Local Government Caretaker Chairman, Udeh Ijachi.

    Others were an APC chieftain in Ado, Sunday Oche and the party’s bigwigs. They were received by Mr. Stephen Ogbeh, who held the fort for the minister, who is outside the country on national assignment.

    Abounu, who said the late Mrs. Ogbeh was a mother to all, described her as ‘’gentle and loving.”

  • PDP loses Reps seat to APGA

    PDP loses Reps seat to APGA

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lost a seat more in the House of Representatives with the nullification of the election of  Dr Okey Eze (Njikoka/Anaocha/Dunukofia constituency of Anambra State) by the Court of Appeal.

    Taking his seat is Ferdinand Dozie Nwankwo of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), who was returned duly elected by the court.

    PDP now has 139 members while APGA has five.

    Nwankwo said following his swearing in that his victory was a reinforcement of the rule of law.

    He stated Nigerians have cause to believe in the nation’s justice system.

    He sought the support of all Nigerians for the anti-corruption drive of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The needs to rid the country of corrupt practices, Nwankwo stated, has become inevitable.

    He  promised to work in concert with his colleagues to make good laws required to ensure good governance in the polity.

    According to him:”I am here to make quality legislation. I am here to see how to enhance the laws that will benefit my constituency.

    “We will try our best to solve the multiple problems facing our people back home.

    “I am an agent of change. I believe that the federal government is doing what it can .

    “I will support every good laws that would fight corruption. Corruption is an endemic disease ravaging us and we need to fight it with every quality laws that we can make.”

     

  • NNPC loses N50b petrol to thieves

    NNPC loses N50b petrol to thieves

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) yesterday said 531 million litres of petrol, valued at over N50 billion was lost to pipeline vandals between January and September.

    This occured at the problematic System 2B Pipeline network which stretches from the Atlas Cove in Lagos to Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

    In a presentation to the Senate Committee on Petroleum Downstream, the Managing Director,  Pipelines and Product Marketing Company  (PPMC), Mrs. Esther Nnamdi-Ogbue, said the losses accrued from the incessant hacking of the pipeline at the Arepo to Mosimi axis of the artery. This has made providing seamless flow of petroleum products to retail outlets more burdensome.

    Mrs. Nnamdi-Ogbue said that despite the challenge posed by the inavailability of the vital System 2B Pipeline network, the PPMC has continued to ensure that the country remains wet with petrol through massive truck-out from depots in Lagos, Oghara and recently Calabar.

    She said the spirited efforts made so far by the Corporation to entrench zero fuel queues across the country were being hampered by the activities of some unscrupulous marketers involved in hoarding, sharp practices and diversion of petroleum products for sale in black markets across the country.

    NNPC’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Ohi Alegbe, who said this in a statement, quoted her as saying, “We view this as a distortion to the economy and we have invited the DSS and the EFCC to take action.”

    Earlier in his presentation, the Group Executive Director, Commercial and Investment, Dr. Babatunde Adeniran, told the Senate Committee that the fuel situation was exacerbated by the inability of oil marketers to meet their import allocation quota due to outstanding subsidy payments, thus creating a gap which PPMC has been working round the clock to bridge despite the extraneous challenges like hoarding and incessant pipeline hacking..

    Answering a question on the ways to ensure a lasting solution to fuel scarcity,  Dr. Jamila Shu’ara, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and leader of the delegation, stressed the need to build strategic reserve stock of petroleum products akin to the national grain reserves across the country.

    Senator Uche Ekwunife, Committee Chairman, while acknowledging the efforts made so far made by the NNPC to ensure unimpeded fuel supply,  gave the Ministry two weeks to ensure sanity in the supply and distribution of petroleum products across the country.

  • PDP loses chieftains, members to APC in Ekiti

    A prominent leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State, Chief Temidayo Olubodun, has joined the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    He defected at a rally in his hometown, Are-Ekiti in Irepodun/ Ifelodun Local Government Area yesterday with another PDP stalwart, Chief Olowojebutu, and scores of their supporters.

    Olubodun, who was PDP Chairman in Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Area, had served as local government councillor in the Third Republic and as board member of the Poverty Alleviation Programme (PAP) during the Obasanjo administration in the Fourth Republic.

    He was received by party leaders led by the state Deputy Chairman, Mrs. Kemi Olaleye; Ekiti Central senatorial chairman, Chief George Ojo; Women Leader, Mrs. Dupe Bakare; Deputy Women Leader, Princess Iyabo Fakunle; Youth Leader Femi Ogundare and Publicity Secretary Taiwo Olatunbosun.

    Olubodun told the gathering that he took the decision because the PDP government has failed the people and inflicted more hardship on them with what he called “anti-people policies and poverty of ideas on what governance should be”.

    He claimed that Ekiti has retrogressed under Governor Ayo Fayose whom he accused of “leaving substance and chasing shadows”.

    Olubodun said: “People are suffering under this oppressive regime as a result of its selfish policies which promote greed and self-aggrandisement. We are leaving PDP because whether anybody believes it or not, this government is doomed to fail.

  • PDP loses appeal against Ashafa’s victory

    The Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos, yesterday, dismissed an appeal on the matter brought by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Mrs. SalisAyodele against the lawmaker representing Lagos East Senatorial District, Senator ‘GbengaAshafa and his party, the All Progressives Congress.

    The victory follows the July 27 dismissal of the election petition filed by the PDP and its candidate in the National Assembly elections earlier this year.

    The decision to file an appeal challenging the verdict of the Justice C.U Anwukah-led tribunal was taken by the PDP candidate, SalisAyodele and her party immediately after the July 27 dismissal.

    The Court of Appeal is the highest level a National Assembly election petition can go.

    In its case at the Court of Appeal, Salis and the PDP had alleged that the judgment of the lower tribunal was erroneous on the grounds that the tribunal erred on many issues in arriving at the decision to dismiss the petition. The PDP also questioned the qualification of the chairman of( the tribunal stating that he was not qualified to sit on the case.( In the final judgement read yesterday by Muhammad Danjuma (JCA), the judgment dismissed the appeal and stated that there was no evidence presented to show cause and prove that the tribunal chairman was not qualified to hold the office.( Counsel for the PDP and SalisAyodele, Barr. OladayoOdunde in his remarks after the judgement was read said “the judgement is a victory for the judiciary no matter the outcome.”( In his own remarks after the victorious judgment, Senator Ashafa said: “The time for politicking has gone and all contenders should sheath their swords. In the spirit of democracy, I extend a hand of friendship to the PDP in Lagos East. Let us work together for the development of our dear state.”

  • Nigeria loses over N100b yearly to Open Skies policy

    Nigeria loses over N100b yearly to Open Skies policy

    NIGERIA is losing over N100 billion yearly to the Open Skies agreement with  other countries, a former director of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority  (NCAA), Captain Adeyemi Dare, has said.

    He spoke at an event  in Lagos with the  theme: Liberalism or protectionism of the aviation sector.

    Unless Nigeria designs its “protection measures”, it could lose more  money because of the heavily skewed bilateral air services deals, Dare said, urging  the government to design policies that would assist indigenous carriers to compete with their foreign counterparts.

    He blamed the government for taking what he called the wrong steps of granting flight entries indiscriminately to foreign airlines to the detriment of local carriers.

    Dare, a pilot, said there were over 300 foreign pilots in the sector, yet their Nigerian counterparts were roaming the streets for jobs.

    Nigeria, he said, had yet to realise the importance of the sector to the economy, demanding stringent policy on expatriate quota  to checkmate the influx of foreigners into the sector indiscriminately.

    Over 47 airlines, he said, had been licensed to operate since the emergence of commercial aviation in Nigeria, noting that of the number, 31  are comatose.

    According to him, many factors, including: government’s action, undue interference by airline owners, improper allocation of resources, uncertainty in regulations and lack of proper market survey, have contributed to the problems of the airline sub-sector.

    He said besides engaging only experienced personnel at the Ministry of Aviation the government should initiate aircraft tax-free measure and limit the use of foreign registered aircraft in the country, among others.

    A pilot with the defunct Nigeria Airways, Captain Prex Porbeni, lamented that bootlicking is a major problem in the ministry, adding that when people are ready to say and stand by the truth instead of shortchanging the system, the sector would grow.

    “If the government policy on expatriate is strong enough, it will check the system because foreign airlines call the short in the aviation they are aided and abetted by ministry officials to kill the sector’s business rather than empower local industry to become strong enough,” he said.

    According to him, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) should also enforce, not necessarily on books, the employment of Nigerian pilots as it was done when Nigeria Airways was in existence  to develop capacity.

    “Another problem is that domestic airlines are looking for finished products; that was not the situation in the days of Nigeria Airways. As a young pilot, I gained experienced at the Airways because they employed us and invested in us,” he added.

    Other stakeholders identified the government’s influence and policy summersault as major problems that have slowed the development of the industry.

    In his paper, titled: ‘Issues in Nigerian flight safety environment: An overview’, a veteran aviator and a member of Aviation Round Table (ART), Sam Akerele, identified the reasons domestic airlines couldn’t grow and why they were bogged with debts.

    “This is not how it is done in other climes where they allow only one entry point to give opportunity for their local airlines to distribute the international passengers to other airports within their countries.

    But this is not the case in our  country where ‘Peter is robbed to pay Paul”. He said :” The government killed the domestic airlines when it allowed international airlines to enter and operate from all the international airports in Nigeria has which are in Lagos, Abuja, Kano Port Harcourt and Enugu.”

    Akerele said for the country to continue to enjoy safety, the aviation agencies must continue to emphasise on training and retraining of their technical staff.

    He, however, regretted that no airport in Nigeria had been certified fit and licensed by the regulatory authorities, a situation that has pushed up the insurance premium the airlines pay.

    On security, he said adequate security should go beyond providing perimeter fences, but should include deploying technology for proper surveillance of the airports’ environment.

    In other words, according to him, NCAA should sanction sister agencies such as Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) , Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) and Nigerian College of Aviation Technology ( NCAT)  when they renege in their statutory responsibilities.

    Akerele advocated the scrapping of the Ministry of Aviation , urging the government to empower the Federal Ministry of Transport to over see aviation.

    According to him, Nigeria has  many policies, but what it requires is a turnaround of mentality to rescue the industry, adding that liberalism of the open sky must stop where Nigeria’s interest of growing domestic airlines begin.

    The former director general of NCAA, Bola Akinkuotu while responding to the accusations levied against the NCAA, said the problem is not with the agency, but the operators who prefer to bend the rules and refuse to comply with the laws. He assured the audience that the situation is changing for the better.

    NAAPE President, Isaac David Balami, an engineer, in his opening remark, thanked the participants, saying the forum was aimed at providing an opportunity for stakeholders to jaw-jaw and find solution to Nigeria’s aviation problems.

  • Arik Air loses $9m to scarcity of aviation fuel

    Arik Air loses $9m to scarcity of aviation fuel

    The scarcity of aviation fuel is taking a huge toll on airline operations with Arik Air declaring yesterday that it had lost an estimated $ 9 million since last week to the disruption of its  operations.

    The airline said the scarcity of aviation fuel adversely hit its operations and it was forced to scale down its flights to 20 per cent capacity out of over 100 flights daily.

    Addressing reporters yesterday at the Arik Air headquarters,  its Managing Director, Mr Chris Ndulue, said it had put a series of contingency plans in place to ensure it does not shut down its operations because of the scarcity of aviation fuel.

    He said the airline now flies to neighbouring countries in West and Central Africa to source aviation fuel at a ridiculously high rate to sustain its operations .

    He said Arik Air now flies to Ghana, Cameroon and Benin Republic to source fuel.

    He said if the fuel situation does not improve, the airline may not operate flights, as the alternative arrangement is costing the airline much money with the attendant inconveniences to passengers.

    Ndulue said since last Thursday when the scarcity of aviation fuel became serious, Arik Air had struggled to secure  over 800,000 litres needed for its daily operations.

    He said: “For over one week now, aviation fuel scarcity has impacted negatively on our flight operations. It has become very bad that we have to scale down our flights gradually. In the last one week, it has become  increasingly difficult to sustain our operations, owing largely to  the scarcity of aviation fuel.

    “Getting fuel to fly to our international destinations has become extremely expensive because we have to source fuel from Kano, Cotonou, Cameroon and Accra to sustain our operations.

    “If the situation does not improve in the coming days, we may not return to normal flight operations.

    “We appeal to passengers for their understanding on account of the inconveniences they are going through arising from the flight disruptions.”

    He said the inadequate supply of aviation fuel to Arik Air was not out of indebtedness to fuel marketers, saying “that the airline makes credit arrangement with its suppliers.”

    He said: “Since last Thursday only one fuel marketer has been consistent with the supply of the product. As an airline, we have thrown contingency plans around and the marketers are cooperating  because of the good relationship.”

    Meanwhile, passengers remain stranded at airports across the country as airlines are unable to get fuel to fly their aircraft.

  • Pastor loses N5m to fraudsters

    A pastor, who allegedly intended to exchange N5million for $50million, has been duped by a five-man gang.

    Three of the gang members were arrested by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Lagos State Police Command.

    They are Chukwuma Anierobi, 52, Thomas Adekunle, 52 and Thomas Benz, 50.

    Police said they were arrested for allegedly duping a pastor based in the Southeast of N5million, under the pretence of buying a land and erecting a structure for a foreigner at $50million.

    A gang member, Ifeanyi, who is at large, brought the idea; Benz got a foreign number that was used to call the victim to ask if he was interested in the deal.

    They lodged in a hotel in Ikeja and invited the Pastor. When he came, they handed him a box containing $50million dollars and he took a flight back to the East. On getting home, he realised that the dollars were photocopies. Since then, he has not been able to reach the gang.

    Benz, who pretended to be London-based, said his role was to clear the money.

    “I called the victim (pastor) and told him that he will collect the cargo through Air France as the clearing agent. After I informed him that his money had arrived, I went to meet him where he lodged telling him the money for clearing was N870, 000. I also said officials of Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) wanted to open the box but since I stopped them, they requested N5million and he pleaded to pay N3.5miliion.

    “Pastor said he operates a joint account with his wife and asked me to prepare the papers which I did. He paid all the money we requested, carried the box and got a flight back to the East. When he opened the box, he called saying that the dollars were fake. I asked him to shut up and I switched off my phone. We all collected N700, 000 each as our share.”

    Adekunle from Itaido in Ekiti State said: “I was the one he called when he opened the box. Our intention was to continue to extort money from him but the way he reacted made us end the game. I also assisted in clearing the defaced dollars with chemicals.”

  • High society loses Risikat Amole

    A few days after the death of Iyalode Aduni Bankole, the Lagos social circle has been hit with the passing of another socialite. The CEO of BIMS African Foods Limited, London, Mrs Risikat Bola Amole, died at her Ibadan home after a brief illness.

    Mrs. Amole was until her death a reputable business woman regarded as one of the wealthiest women in Ibadan with properties scattered around the city. With her entrepreneurial skills, she was able to grow BIMS African Food Limited from a small retail outlet to one of the biggest Africa stores in London.

    Besides being a renowned businesswoman, Amole was a politician who was aspiring to go to the House of Representatives on the platform of Accord Party. She was the chairperson of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in Europe up till 2003 when she defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and later Accord Party.

    She was also a prominent member of the Labour Party in the United Kingdom. She was said to be in her 50s at the time she died.

  • Tuface Idibia loses father to prostate cancer

    Tuface Idibia loses father to prostate cancer

    Award-winning singer, Innocent Idibia, is in grief, following the passing on of his father, Mr. Michael Idibia, at the weekend, at an Abuja-based hospital after a protracted battle with prostate cancer.

    It will be recalled that about two months ago, the sensational singer disclosed that his late father, an alumnus of the Kansas State University, USA, had started receiving treatment after he was diagnosed of cancer.

    Pa Michael Idibia, who retired from the Ministry of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State, is survived by his wife, Mrs. Rose Owoyi Idibia, four children, grandchildren and siblings.

    In a statement, the family said: “With sadness in our hearts, but with gratitude to God for a life well spent, we announce the passing on of our father, brother, uncle and in-law, Mr. Michael Agbo Idibia, a native of Okpokwu Edumoga in Benue State.