The Nation Newspaper

Tag: United Arab Emirates (UAE)

  • $1.2bn loan: Banks deny Etisalat takeover

    $1.2bn loan: Banks deny Etisalat takeover

    Consortium of 13 banks involved in Etisalat Nigeria loan on Thursday refuted reports that they have taken over the operations of the company.

    A management source close to the banks who pleaded anonymity told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that there was no truth in the report making the round.

    The source said that the banks major interest was the loan repayment borrowed by the company and not takeover.

    “We are not telecommunication companies, all we want is our money,” he said.

    The source said that the company must pay back the loans in order not to jeopardise the economy, jobs, payment of dividends and depositors funds.

    He stated that it was not only the banks that would suffer but billions of Nigerians, even the vendors and distributors doing business with the company.

    “We did not take over Etisalat as being insinuated, if we have taken over, it has to be registered with the CAC.

    “They are still doing their business, they just want to weep up sentiment at the United Arab Emirates (UAE),” the source added.

    He added that the company had about 20 million subscribers, adding that any interruption would affect many businesses, especially SMES.

    According to the source, the affected Nigerian banks are owed about 570 million dollars out of the 1.2 billion dollars syndicated loan with the balance being owed vendors and distributors, among others.

    The source said that Etisalat wanted to pay only 10 per cent of the loan borrowed and requested that others should be written off as non-performing loan.

    He said that Etisalat wanted the consortium of banks to pay 50 million dollars out of 570 million dollars being owed, which the banks rejected.

    The source added that the banks practically reduced the debt to between 20 per cent and 30 per cent at a discounted interest rate of six per cent below the market rate which was rejected by Etisalat.

    “All we are requesting is for the Federal Government to wade into the issue and carry out due diligence on what the loan was used for.

    “A foreign company cannot come and ride us in Nigeria, if this issue is not handled carefully, others will do the same thing,” the source said.

    The source said that the company was avoiding negotiations which made the affected banks to fly to London earlier in the year to have a discussion with a company with its office in Nigeria.

    He said that the company was advised earlier before naira devaluation to convert the foreign loans to local currency due to fall in oil price at the global market, which it also rejected.

    UAE’s Etisalat had on June 20, said that it had been instructed to transfer its 45 per cent stake in Etisalat Nigeria to a loan trustee.

    Etisalat said it had been notified to transfer its stake by June 23. It said the stake had a carrying value of zero on its books.

    In the last few months, Etisalat Nigeria has been in talks with Nigerian banks to restructure a 1.2 billion dollars loan after missing repayments.

    The loan is a seven-year facility agreed with 13 banks in 2013 to refinance a 650 million dollars loan and fund expansion of the telco’s network.

    Although the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) stepped into the fray to prevent a takeover by the banks, those discussions failed to produce an agreement on restructuring the debt.

    NAN

  • UAE bans expressions of sympathy toward Qatar

    UAE bans expressions of sympathy toward Qatar

    The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday banned people from publishing expressions of sympathy toward Qatar and will punish offenders with a jail term of up to 15 years.

    The UAE, along with several other powerful Arab states, severed diplomatic ties with fellow Gulf state Qatar on Monday over its alleged support for Islamist groups and Iran. Qatar denies the accusations.

    U.S. President Donald Trump took sides in the deep rift in the Arab world on Tuesday, praising Middle East countries’ actions against Qatar, but later spoke by phone with Saudi King Salman and stressed the need for Gulf unity.

    UAE Attorney-General Hamad Al-Shamsi announced the ban.

    Al-Shamsi said: “strict and firm action will be taken against anyone who shows sympathy or any form of bias toward Qatar, or against anyone who objects to the position of the UAE, whether it be through the means of social media, or any type of written, visual or verbal form.”

    On top of a possible jail term, offenders would also be hit with a fine of at least 500,000 dirhams, the newspaper said, citing a statement to Arabic-language media.

    Since the diplomatic row erupted, slogans against and in support of Qatar have been among the top topics discussed on Twitter in Arabic, which is a hugely popular medium of expression in the Arab world, particularly in Saudi Arabia.

    Newspapers and television channels in the region have also been engaged in a war of words over Qatar’s role.

  • Against All Odds: Odujinrin becomes 1st African to travel round the world

    Against All Odds: Odujinrin becomes 1st African to travel round the world

    It is a common saying that the world would make way for a man whose words and actions shows that he knows where he is going. The very inspiring story of Captain Ademilola Oyewale Odujinrin; a Nigerian pilot who began his expedition to fly round this terraqueous globe we call earth in nine months is a quintessential example of a dreamer bringing his dreams to fruition “against all odds”.

    He is the first pilot of African descent to fly solo round the world in a relatively small plane. His achievement is a great beacon light of hope to this generation; one that has totally changed the narrative for good about the African people, especially – Nigeria.

    Captain Odujinrin ‘Lola’ as he is fondly called held a press briefing on Thursday, 13th of April, 2017 at the press conference with newsmen held at the Murtala Muhammad Airport in Lagos. ‘Lola’ dedicated his achievement to the Nigerian people; especially to the younger generation of dreamers. He urged the youths to embrace hard work and persistence, and to believe that they only can make or create their luck.

    According to him, his overwhelming passion for Aviation started when he was yay high – between 7 to 10 years of age. His greatest inspiration was his late Uncle who was a pilot who sometimes take him inside the cockpit of the aircraft: That was the beginning of his unflinching zest for Aviation. “I can remember one night I was flying a kite and I noticed aeroplanes flying across the sky. Then I asked my dad where the planes were going. He replied me saying ‘they are going to Lagos – Murtala Mohammed Airport’,” he said. That was also a seminal moment for his aviation foray.

    Talking about some of the challenges that he and his team had to grapple with, Lola explained saying, “The challenges were numerous, however, the major one was the finance. However, one that was closely associated to securing finance was self-believe. If we believe enough in ourselves and our dreams, financial challenges can always be surmounted.

    The second most challenging part of the journey was the weather. In most parts of the world it was rainy season. Although in Nigeria the season for rain is usually in June, but it was different for other places. We (I and my plane) were stuck in south-eastern Asia for two months,” he said.

    His remarkable journey which began in June 2016 in Washington DC, U.S.A, was launched by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, who blessed the voyage and described Nigeria as a fortunate country with great people capable of changing Africa for better as there is one Nigerian out of every four black people on earth.

    The World Tour saw Lola fly over 25 countries, had 35 stops, and for 300 odd hours in his small plane which hardly provided him the opportunity to stretch his body during his time in the air for a duration of 9 months. He began his journey from Washington DC, U.S.A, to Iceland, then Europe, and into Africa via United Arab Emirates (UAE), India, and Asian sub-continent. He flew over some islands before undertaking the longest legs of the journey across the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and California, and back to Washington DC where he ended the journey.

    Lola in some spates of emotions and words recounted his experiences while seeking sponsorship and endorsement, especially from Nigerian organizations. According to him, it is very regrettable that no Nigeria Company was willing to offer support and endorsement for the project. It took visionary and benevolent companies like Transcend, Air Djibouti, and Tolaram Group which are foreign companies to see the importance of the project, and the sundry benefits it has; not just to the companies, but to changing the narrative of the African people for good.

    With respect to creating an enabling and congenial environment for dreamers like Lola to thrive and not just survive, he said “I appreciate and understand that I was privileged to travel, however, I know we also have some Nigerians who travel and wasted the opportunity; so the argument is on both sides. What we are advocating is for the government in whose hands the destinies of these many and ubiquitous dreamers are, should create an enabling environment for them to achieve their dreams.

    “The Ooni of Ife spent sometime in the United States talking about creating an enabling environment for talent, skills, and brainchildren to find expression, application, and fulfillment.

    “Our policy wonks in the senate and the federal government need to begin to create more policies and put more concrete structure on ground that will enable you and I fulfill our Nigerian dream.

    “Also talking about the enabling environment, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the level of infrastructures – roads, street lights etc., in Lagos. Lagos has change; now that is a positive step in the right direction.

    Lola restated that the reason for him embarking on such a long, arduous, and sometimes dangerous journey was to be a joyous daybreak to end the long nights of psychological debacles and manacles placed upon the Nigerian youths by their environment. Everyone is a star, and should be given the right environment to blossom, boom, and not gloom.

    ‘Lola’ as he is fondly called by his friends and associates, hails from Ijebu Remo, he was given birth to in England, before his parent relocated to Lagos, and like every other Lagos child he grew up and spent his childhood in Lagos.

    Twitter: @memorinken

    Instagram: @memorinken

    Email: brandphase@yahoo.com

  • UAE halts investments in Egypt over debts

    United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Dana Gas says it will not make new investments in Egypt because of delays in obtaining payments owed to it there, the firm’s chief executive said on Thursday.

    Patrick Allman-Ward told reporters in Dubai that the amount owed by Egypt was 265 million dollars as of Dec. 31, up from 221 million dollars at the end of 2015.

    “Unpaid receivables from the Kurdistan Regional Government were $713 million, down slightly from 727 million dollars in 2015.

    “As uncertainty remains, we must therefore be rigorous in balancing any additional capital investment in Egypt with actual collections,” Allman-Ward said.

    He said Dana would complete current Egyptian investments in critical health, safety, security and environmental areas and all of its up-and-running projects.

    He said all non-critical projects had been paused since the start of the year.

    Allman-Ward said the firm had thought that part of a 12 billion dollars loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed with Egypt in November would be used for payments to the petroleum sector.

    “But the money has been used for other purpose.

    “Dana’s investment freeze will be reviewed once the debt is paid by the Egyptian government because the company wants to continue developing its assets there,” he said.

    He added that he hoped part of a combined 5.5 billion dollars that Egypt had secured through an international bond issue and loans from the World Bank and African Development Bank would be used to meet the debts.

    Dana posted a 7 million dollars net profit in the three months to Dec. 31, versus 134 million dollars in the same period of 2015 when it benefited from a one-off legal settlement.

    Shares in Dana fell 3.7 per cent following the results.

    The Egyptian government has been seeking to draw foreign investors back to its energy sector to boost shaky public finances, but it has failed to meet self-imposed deadlines for paying back international oil companies.

  • World leaders urged to rise against cultural genocide

    World leaders urged to rise against cultural genocide

    A call has gone out to world leaders and stakeholders in the culture and tourism sector to rise against cultural genocide.

    The call was made by the President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), at the on-going International Conference for the Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage in Conflict Areas.

    The conference is organised by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) with the support of French and UAE Governments.

    The conference is to address the rising aggressions targeting humanity, cultural treasures and create an International Fund with 100 million Dollar seed fund to address the challenge.

    The President, represented by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said “it has become a pattern that major victims of armed conflict are no longer just the human being and property but also cultural heritages like artefacts’’.

    He said the world is coming to the realisation that genocide could be in any form, including the deliberate annihilation of cultural symbols that binds people together and symbolises their existence.

    “What we are witnessing all over the world today is cultural genocide.

    “Cultural genocide can actually be more devastating than ethnic genocide in the sense that there are heritages that bind humanity and become a force for unity.

    “If you remove or destroy them, you are destroying humanity because it is not just about the people, but also about the minds and the Arts.

    “It is no longer true that in times of war, safeguarding natural heritage is a luxury, it is now a necessity,’’ he said.

    The President said that, like Syria, Afghanistan, Mali and others, Nigeria had its fair share of the destruction of its cultural heritage sites during armed conflict.

    “We have armed conflict in the Niger Delta and terrorism in the Northeast that has destroyed our heritage sites.

    “One of our UNESCO declared world heritage sites has been affected in Adamawa state by Boko Haram insurgency, which went there and looted artefacts that dated back to several centuries.

    “In Damaturu, Yobe, we have evidence of a vault that dates back to 8000 years that was also affected.”

    He said the activities of vandals destroying pipelines in the Niger Delta have also resulted in the flow of crude destroying the habitat and affecting the ecological and cultural sites in the area.

    The President underscored the need for deliberate efforts at early preparation to preserve cultural heritage even in times of peace.

    Corroborating Buhari’s position, the Director-General, National Commission for Museum and Monuments, Alhaji Yusuf Abdallah, said one of the affected sites in the North East is the Sukur Cultural Landscape, a UNESCO World heritage site in Madagali area of Adamawa.

    “The extremist went into the hill. Initially, the place was serving as a safe haven for the communities around the landscape because it is rugged up in the hill and people were taking refuge there.

    “The Boko Haram extremists discovered the place and went in there in December 2014. The community was able to repel them.

    “Although, the integrity and authenticity of the site remains but there is always the fear of the community going back to the hill.

    “The intangible component of the site is compromised because festival are not organised and other spiritual ceremonies are avoided because people do not want to congregate for fear of attack,’’ he said.

    Abdallah told journalists that Nigeria stands to gain a lot from the conference because some of the cultural sites that suffered from the destruction would get attention.

    He said when fully established, the UNESCO International Fund for the Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage in Conflict Zones would assist in training and capacity building for Nigerians on preservation and conservation of cultural heritage.

    Earlier, the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova said the conference is crucial because “it brings a  coalition of partners and connects the doors between security and humanitarian in cultural issues’’.

    She said the conference would ensure that deliberate destruction of cultural heritage is recognised as a war crime and perpetrators are punished as such.

    Bokova said that the Fund to be created would have its headquarters in Switzerland and produce sustainable impetus supporting the implementation of short and long-term activities in safeguarding endangered cultural heritage.

  • Man, 56, two others remanded for ‘cocaine trafficking’

    Man, 56, two others remanded for ‘cocaine trafficking’

    Justice Babs Kuewumi of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday remanded Ezeanya Emeka Paul, 56, and two other persons in prison for alleged cocaine trafficking.

    The two others are Obi Chukwukwnene Edwin, and a woman, AbdulRasheed Rashidat Olanike.

    First defendant Paul is standing trial on a count of cocaine trafficking, second defendant Edwin on a count of heroin trafficking, while Olanike is facing two counts of cocaine and heroin smuggling.

    The charges were preferred against them by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

    During Paul’s arraignment, State prosecutor, Mr. Austin Nwagu, informed the court that the first defendant was arrested by the NDLEA after he was found in possession of 1.47 kilograms of cocaine at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

    He said the defendant had been a passenger on a plane from Brazil to Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), which made an emergency landing in Ikeja.

    For the second defendant, State prosecutor, Mrs. Juliana Emabo, alleged that Obi was arrested with 1.575 kilograms of heroin, at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport, last May 3, on his arrival from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania..

    Mr. Abu Ibrahim, state prosecutor, informed the court that Olanike was arrested at the same airport, last May 18, with 970 grammes of heroin, and 155 grammes of cocaine, during an outward clearance of passengers on an Ethiopian Airline Flight to Guangzhou, China, through Addis-Ababa.

    The defendants denied the charge.

    Justice Kuewumi found the oral bail applications of defence counsel, Mr. B. O. Aikhegbe and E. U. Okenji, without merit and granted the prosecutors’ application for remand.

    Ezeanya was remanded till his trial date of September 29, while Olanike and Obi will be in prison custody till their trials begin on September 28, and October 19, respectively.

  • India approves anti-human trafficking pact with UAE

    The Indian cabinet on Wednesday gave its nod to a pact with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for cooperation in preventing human trafficking in West Asia, sources said.

    It said that the Cabinet of Ministers, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cleared the pact, which would be inked between the two countries soon.

    The sources noted that under the proposed pact, a joint task force with representatives from India and the UAE would be constituted to monitor the implementation of the agreement.

    “Not only will it help in preventing human trafficking, but the pact will bolster cooperation on issues of rescue, recovery and repatriation of the victims, mainly women and children,’’ it said.

    Report says human trafficking is common in India and the UAE and the pact is aimed at putting an end to all sorts of such crimes.