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The Abiodun Akinlade Group, TAAG says moves by the lawmaker representing Lagos West senatorial district in the ninth Assembly, Senator Solomon Adeola, popularly called Yayi, to legitimize his indigeneship of Yewa land through a chieftaincy title will be rebuffed by sons and daughters of the zone.
The Media Director of, The Abiodun Akinlade Group, Lateef Odede, in a statement on Monday said the Lagos Senator can’t use money and chieftaincy title to buy the heritage of Yewa people.
Adeola, who is eyeing Ogun West senatorial seat after serving out eight years as Senator in Lagos State, is expected to be installed as the Aremo-Oba Yewa by the paramount ruler of Yewaland and Olu of Ilaro, HRM Oba Kehinde Olugbenle this weekend at Ilaro, in Yewa South LGA of Ogun State.
The statement from TAAG, said, “Conferment of AREMO to the Lagos Senator has not authenticated him as an indigene of Yewaland nor qualified him to contest for election in Ogun West. You can't build something on nothing."
"No matter how long a lie flies, truth will surely prevail at last. Our respected political leaders should not be carried away with the Greek gifts from the Lagos Senator who is looking for what does not belong to him” the statement reads.
Akinlade, who is one of the aspirants for the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket for Ogun West in 2023, was a three-term House of Representatives member for Yewa South/Ipokia federal constituency and Deputy Director General campaign, Dapo Abiodun 2019 Gubernatorial Campaign
Speaking on the chances of the three-term member of the Federal House of Representatives to clinch the APC ticket for the Ogun West Senatorial seat, the group said “Our principal (Akinlade) has remained committed to the development of Ogun West and we challenge any aspirant that can match his numerous records of achievements to come forward for an issue-based campaign.”
"Akinlade Group is challenging Senator Adeola to come up with his records of stewardship for all the over 20 years he has been representing Lagos West if it can match the landmark achievements of our principal who is widely referred to as Mr. Project, Job Portal and Baba Omo kekeke (father of the Youths)."
The Statement further revealed that the claim by Senator Adeola that Yewa Monarchs came to beg Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to release him to contest in Ogun State is not only insulting to the traditional institution of the region but also ridiculous.
"Adeola should mention the names of the Monarchs who came to appeal to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to release him from Lagos West to Ogun West".
"We want to passionately appeal to the National Leader of our party, Asiwaju Tinubu, not to allow the inordinate ambition of the Lagos Senator to drag his good name into the mud in Ogun State because he (Adeola) has been going around dropping the name of our leader as the one behind his latest foray for survival in Ogun West politics".
The group also appeal to the traditional institutions to always carry out due diligence and background check on anyone they honor with titles in their domain.
“In as much as we believe that it is the prerogative of the traditional institutions to confer chieftaincy titles on anybody irrespective of the background, we want to appeal to them as the custodian of our tradition to ensure that due diligence and background checks are conducted to be able to protect and preserve our collective heritage."
“Conferment of AREMO on the Lagos-based Senator has not and won’t authenticate his indigineship of Yewaland nor qualify him to contest for election in Ogun West. While you can use your money to buy a few consciences, you can't buy the majority because you cannot build something on nothing.
“We urge our people to be guided, see through and reject this overheated inordinate ambition that has received backlash and negative reviews from within and outside our zone. We cannot afford to be the political laughing stock of our country,” the statement said.
A 40-year-old broadcaster, Uche Igwe, who allegedly shared on Twitter, a video of a 10-year- old Chrisland School student, was Monday brought before a Yaba Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos State.
Igwe, who resides at No. 14 Ogundare Street in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State, is facing a two-count charge of cyberstalking and breach of peace. He, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Prosecution counsel attached to the State Criminal Investigation Department Panti, Mr Augustine Nwabuisi, told the court that the defendant committed the offences on April 18, on the Twitter application.
He said that the defendant intentionally sent a video of the 10-year-old female student engaging in sexual intercourse with another student in Dubai, to the application.
Nwabuisi said that the defendant used his personal Twitter handle, @uchedark, to share the video on the internet for public viewing without the consent of the student’s parents or the school.
The alleged offences contravene Section 24 (1) (a) (b) (i) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition and Prevention) Act of 2015, and Section 168 (d) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Section 24 (1) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition and Prevention) Act of 2015 provides for 10 years’ imprisonment for cyberstalking.
Breach of the peace is punishable with three months jail term under Section 168 (d) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The Chief Magistrate, Mrs Adeola Adedayo, admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N10 million with three sureties in like sum.
Adedayo ruled that the sureties must submit their National Identification Numbers and their Lagos State Residents Registration Agency cards.
She also directed that one of the sureties must be a landowner, adding that all the sureties must reside within the court’s jurisdiction.
Adedayo ordered that the sureties must be gainfully employed and have evidence of three years’ tax payment to the Lagos State Government.
She adjourned the case until June 13 for mention.
Ten persons may have died when a petroleum pipeline exploded in Abia State at the weekend.
The explosion took place in Uzuaku community in Ukwa West council of the state.
Names of the affected victims were not available at press time, but a community source confirmed the incident, which he said occurred in the wee hours of Saturday.
The incident is said to have thrown the community into mourning.
The source said the explosion took place when community residents went to fetch spilled petrol from a burst pipeline.
The villagers did not report the spill but rather went to help themselves to the flowing hot liquid and were killed when it went up in flames.
Many were burnt but survived and taken to hospital.
A community leader said some of the wounded died in hospital.
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says “low loadouts” at depots are “very likely” contributing to the queues observed at petrol stations in Abuja.
Over the weekend, queues had resurfaced at filling stations in parts of the federal capital territory (FCT).
Speaking on the development in a statement issued on Sunday, Garba Deen Muhammad, NNPC spokesman, said purchases by residents who recently returned after the public holidays also contributed to the queues.
Loadouts involve the process of moving petroleum product from depots to filling stations.
NNPC, however, said efforts are ongoing to address the situation.
“NNPC Ltd notes the sudden appearance of fuel queues in parts of Abuja. This is very likely due to low loadouts at depots which usually happen during long public holidays, in this case, the Sallah celebrations,” the statement reads.
“Another contributing factor to the sudden appearances of queues is the increased fuel purchases which is also usual with returning residents of the FCT from the public holidays.
“NNPC and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), in conjunction with our marketing partners, have taken necessary measures to ramp up loadouts from all depots.
“We assure all residents of the FCT, and indeed all Nigerians, that we have ample local supplies and national stock in excess of 2.5 billion liters, with sufficiency of more than 43 days.
“The NNPC Ltd hereby advises motorists not to engage in panic buying as supplies are adequate as will become increasingly evident in the coming days.”
Almost half the shortfall in planned oil supply by OPEC and its allies is down to Nigeria and Angola, data seen by Reuters shows, reflecting a number of factors including moves by Western oil majors away from African projects.
OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, pumped 1.45 million barrels per day (bpd) - equal to 1.5% of world supply - below its target in March, the OPEC+ figures seen by Reuters show.
According to the figures, Angola was responsible for almost 300,000 bpd of the OPEC+ supply shortfall while Nigeria was pumping almost 400,000 bpd below target. The war in Ukraine has also hit Russia's oil trading and its output was about 300,000 bpd short of its March supply target.
The OPEC+ shortfall is one of the reasons global oil prices hit a 14-year high in March above $139 a barrel and it has prompted calls by the United States and other consumers for producers to pump more.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, however, has repeatedly rebuffed the calls - and one contributing factor is simply that some of its members don't have oil available to pump.
In OPEC's view, investment cuts after oil prices collapsed in 2015-2016 due to oversupply, along with a growing focus by investors on economic, social and governance (ESG) issues, have led to a shortfall in the spending needed to meet demand.
"There was massive underinvestment in the industry over the years, further complicated by the effect of ESG," OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo told Reuters.
"There was a contraction of 25% in 2015 and 2016 - unprecedented. There was no significant recovery before 2020, when we registered a 30% contraction in investments in the industry," he said.
Figures from the International Energy Agency (IEA) show there was no significant increase in investment in global oil and gas exploration and production during 2017-2019 - followed by a 32% plunge in 2020.
2010-2020
International oil companies are gradually pulling out of Nigeria's onshore oil production, although they continue to invest in its vast offshore oil and gas resources, where costs remain competitive.
Shell, which helped transform Nigeria into a leading producer since the 1930s, did not immediately respond to a request for comment about investment and the reasons for the decline in Nigerian output.
OPEC's Gulf producers led by Saudi Arabia are largely meeting their OPEC+ targets, and OPEC sources say their relative lack of dependence on outside investors has helped.
"The investment shortfall affected more the countries where reliance on foreign investment is more prominent," an OPEC+ source from a Gulf producer said.
IEA figures show that in 2019, final investment decisions (FIDs) affecting over eight times more crude reserves in the Middle East were taken than those affecting African reserves.
Middle East approvals were also consistently higher from 2011 through 2018.
"Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait are increasing investment and that to some extent can help offset declines elsewhere," said Audun Martinsen, analyst at Rystad Energy.
"It also highlights why OPEC is not intervening more because it is quite hard for OPEC to increase production overnight," Martinsen said.
Angolan state oil company Sonangol and Nigeria's state oil firm NNPC did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment on their production decline or the reasons for it.
According to a 2021 report from the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation or APICORP, Middle East and North African producers were still expected to boost energy investment to $805 billion in 2021-2025 - up $13 billion on the previous year's five-year outlook, despite the impact of the pandemic.
In February, Saudi Arabia-based APICORP said it expected rising oil and gas prices to further support energy investment in the region.
While Western majors are increasingly focusing on the energy transition and selling oil assets, they remain big producers in Africa. Big Western companies are responsible for 40% of output in Nigeria and 60% in Angola, according to Rystad.
Rystad sees some potential for new investment in Nigeria and Angola but projects remain "too expensive" for the majors.
"Since 2015 the majors have been focusing on cost and developing things in Africa has been too much of a risk with cost overruns," Rystad's Martinsen said. "It's not really part of their key focus any longer."
Angolan production has fallen 50% since 2015 and output is down by about 30% over the same period in Nigeria, he said. In Nigeria production is expected to grow slightly by 200,000 bpd in the coming years, but then decline again after 2024.
Shell said last month that oil spills arising from pipeline tapping in the Niger Delta doubled in 2021 to the highest since 2016.
Underlining the extent of the decline, exports of key Nigerian crude grade Bonny Light have fallen to just two or three cargoes a month from about eight or nine previously as a result of escalating oil theft.
PRESS RELEASE
President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday, May 8, 2022, left for Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, to attend a United Nations organized conference on the future of land, regarding desertification, drought, degradation, rights, restoration and implications for national and world economies.
Buhari, who will participate in a Summit of Head of States and Government, May 9th-10th, 2022, joined world leaders at Sofitel Hotel, for the 15th session of the Conference Of the parties (COP15) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), with the theme “, ‘Land. Life. Legacy: From scarcity to prosperity.”
The convention aims to take action to ensure that land, the lifeline on the planet, continues to benefit present and future generations.
To achieve the visionary objective of land restoration and balance, COP15 will bring together leaders from governments, the private sector, civil society and other key stakeholders from around the world to drive progress in the future of sustainable management of one of the most precious assets, land.
The convention will explore links between land and other key development issues, which will be discussed during the high-level segment, including a Heads of States Summit, high-level roundtables and interactive dialogue sessions.
COP 15 is a key moment in the fight against desertification, land degradation and drought. Accordingly, it will build on the findings of the second edition of the Global Land Outlook and offer a concrete response to the interconnected challenges of land degradation, climate change and biodiversity loss as the world steps into the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
Drought, land restoration, and related enablers such as land rights, gender equality and youth empowerment are among the top items on the Conference agenda.
Buhari, who is also the President of the Great Green Wall in Africa, was accompanied on the trip by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, Minister of Environment, Mohammed H. Abdullahi, Minister of Agriculture, Mahmoud Mohammed and Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman H. Adamu.
Also, on the President’s team to Abidjan are the National Security Adviser, Mohammed Monguno, Director General, National Intelligence Agency, Ahmed Rufai Abubakar and Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri- Erewa.
Garba Shehu
Senior Special Assistant to the President
(Media & Publicity)
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has begun the collection of electronic stamp duty due to the rift between the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST).
President-General of the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government-Owned Companies (SSASCGOC), Kayode Alakija, disclosed this during an interview with Labour Correspondents in Abuja at the weekend.
Alakija said the association, an affiliate of TUC, could not be watching akimbo while NIPOST, one of the branches of SSASCGOC, was being deprived of its power.
The two government agencies fought over collection of the N50 stamp duty before the matter was later taken to court for adjudication.
While both parties are still awaiting stakeholders’ intervention and the court’s final decision, the apex bank took over collection of the electronic aspect, while the adhesive production aspect was ceded to the NIPOST.
Alakija said, “The issue of stamp duty was actually addressed. Initially, if you followed it, there was a time they came up with the law tagged Finance Act where stamp duty was ceded to another agency.
“The adhesive aspect of the stamp is what they have given the NIPOST exclusive rights to produce. Meanwhile the electronic aspect of it has been given to the CBN for now.”
He explained that his association has begun to address many complaints of NIPOST customers by partnering with the service’s management.
According to him, “What we are doing is that we are working closely with the NIPOST management to see how we can improve efficiency and effectiveness in that organization.
“We’ve had so many complaints from customers of NIPOST which we are working with the management to see that the right services are delivered because ours is to partner with management of an organization to get the best for our members.”
Airline operators on Sunday announced that they have “acceded” to appeals from the government to withdraw plans to suspend operations from Monday (today) over high cost of jet fuel and other operational costs.
The information was conveyed in a letter signed by Serina Abdulmunaf, president, Airline Operators Association, and jointly signed by the chief executive officers of six domestic airline operators.
“…the AON has acceded to requests to withdraw the action for the time being while we allow for a fresh round of dialogue with the government in the hope of reaching an amicable solution,” the letter read in part.
Airline operators had on Friday in a letter addressed to the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority said they would halt operations from Monday, amidst an astronomical increase in aviation fuel.
In reaction to the letter, Sirika pleaded with the airlines to suspend their planned shutdown of operations over the increase of cost of aviation fuel from N190 to N700 per litre.
Following the move, four airlines separately pulled out of the plan and said they would continue their operations. The airlines are Ibom Air, Arik, Air Peace, Aero Contractors and Dana.
On Sunday, AON said all airlines had suspensed the plan and operations will no longer be halted.
“We have also reached this decision with the highest consideration for our esteemed customers who have been faced with uncertainty over the last few days and to enable them to have access to travel to their various destinations for the time being during the period of discussions with relevant authorities,” the airlines said.
Sultan of Sokoto and President-General, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Sa’ad Abubakar III, has declared that the orphans of insurgency are his children.
Abubakar made the declaration on Saturday, at the Eid-el-fitr lunch organised for the students of UK Jarma Academy in Sokoto State.
The school, which was initiated by a Sokoto-based Philanthropist, Umarun Kwabo, has 171 Orphans from Borno, Yobe and Sokoto states.
They include 117 orphans from Borno, 21 from Yobe and 33 from Sokoto, being sponsored by the philanthropist to acquire their education to tertiary institution.
According to the Sultan, the children are no longer orphans because he is their father.
“We will continue to ensure that these children are living comfortably, we are their parents and they are our children,” he said.
Abubakar also called on scholars to sustain more enlightenment on the need for the society to support orphans.
“The gesture, if properly sustained by our society, will drastically reduce the ugly situation of rampant begging across our domain,” he said.
The Sultan appreciated the sponsor of the children, Sokoto State Government and others, to continue to support the initiative.
He appealed for a sustainable prayer by Nigerians for peace, unity and progress in the country. Governor Aminu Tambuwal, represented by his Deputy, Munir Dan’iya, reassured of his administration’s commitment in supporting orphans.
He thanked Kwabo for sustaining the initiative and appealed to other personalities to emulate the gesture, considering its abundant reward from the Almighty Allah.
Earlier, the school proprietor, said the gesture was part of his commitment to encourage the society to support orphans across the country.
“This initiative is a massage to all Nigerians. I am sure no matter how little, one can assist to reduce the burden of a single orphan within the society,” Kwabo said.
Also, Mohammed Maidoki, Chairman, UK Jarma Management Board, thanked the sponsor for taking the children’s responsibility to tertiary institution.
Maidoki said that they had since engaged in various skill acquisition programmes which included tailoring, phone repairs and knitting.
Residents of Bakura Local Government of Zamfara State said no fewer than 56 people were killed on Friday afternoon when bandits attacked three villages in the area, Premium Times has reported.
A former councilor, who asked not to be named, told reporter that the gunmen attacked Sabon Garin Damri, of the villages, around 2:30 p.m.
“I was in the main town when the bandits entered Sabon Garin Damri. We suddenly saw people running towards us. Then we started hearing sporadic gunshots. I was miraculously saved,” he said.
He said the bandits carried out what appears to be coordinated attacks from Sabon Garin Damri, Damri and Kalahe before a joint security team confronted them.
Another resident, Mu’azu Damri, said the number of casualties would have been more if the security agents didn’t confront the bandits.
“I’ll have to personally applaud them (security agents), though I believe they should have come earlier because if they came at the right time, they would have saved a lot of people. But their arrival helped because the number would have been more than that,” he said
Damri also said the bandits were pursued by the team of soldiers and police personnel, forcing them to abandon the livestock, food items, and other things they had looted from residents.
Though Damri said the number of those killed was 48, other sources, including the former councilor said the number of those killed as at Saturday afternoon was 56
“We counted 56 people,” the councillor said. “In Damri, only three people were killed; a girl and two other men but the remaining were all killed in Sabon Garin Damri and Kalahe. Some of them were not residents of the two communities. They were people who came from nearby villages to celebrate Eid El Fitr with their relatives” he said.
Another resident of Bakura Town, Usman Lauwali, also affirmed that 56 people were confirmed dead by residents of the three communities.
He said those who were wounded were receiving treatment at the General Hospital, Bakura.
Though the Police Command spokesperson in Zamfara, Mohammed Shehu, didn’t respond to calls and SMS sent to him on the attacks, an officer at the command, who asked not to be named because he had not been authorised to speak with journalists confirmed that they were aware of the situation.
“We’re aware but you can wait for an official statement. I know that a strong reinforcement has been sent to Bakura and Talata Mafara axis this morning. The CP may even visit the communities later,” he said.
Zamfara, like in other areas in Nigeria’s Northwest region, is convulsing under the attacks by gunmen locally called bandits who attack mostly rural communities and travellers.
These bandits have been blamed for killing thousands of people. They have also abducted many more in what is shaping to become one of the worst kidnap-for-ransom syndicates in the country’s history.
In the face of the failure of the government to protect residents of the area, many communities have set up vigilante groups to protect residents from attacks by bandits but this has worsened the security challenges in the area as it has given rise to an explosion of tit-for-tat killings between the bandits (who are mostly of Fulani extraction) and the vigilante groups set up by the majority Hausa communities in the area.
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Ibom Air on Saturday said it will not take part in an industry plan to stop flights from Monday over the high cost of jet fuel, saying the move would affect revenues needed to service obligations to financiers and suppliers.
The Airline Operators of Nigeria said on Friday that members will stop local flights from Monday until further notice.
Ibom Air, one of the smaller members of the nine airline association, is the first to say it will not participate in grounding flights.
The association said jet fuel has risen to 700 naira ($1.69) per litre in Nigeria from 190 naira over a short period and that the cost of a one-hour flight has more than doubled to N120,000, a price it said was unsustainable.
Ibom Air, backed by Akwa Ibom state, said high jet fuel posed a threat but stopping operations would exacerbate the situation due to obligations and that customers have paid in advance for flights.
In November, Ibom Air signed a firm order for ten Airbus A220 planes at the Dubai Airshow.
The aviation ministry said on Saturday it was concerned about the difficulties and the spiraling air fares due to jet fuel cost but appealed to the airlines to consider the effects of a shutdown on travelers at home and abroad.
A previous threat by the association to stop flights over high costs was averted by government financial assistance.
Separately, Air Peace, Nigeria's biggest carrier by passenger numbers, flying to Dubai and Johannesburg, has warned of flight disruptions due to jet fuel scarcity.
Abdulmumin Jibrin, the Campaign Director General of APC frontline presidential aspirant, Ahmed Tinubu, has left the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC.
Jubril who was announced earlier in the year as Tinubu’s campaign DG took to his Twitter handle to announce his decision.
According to the Kano Politician he would be announcing his new party in the next 24 hours.
He tweeted, “I have done my best for APC. Its time to move on. I will announce my new political party within the next 24 hours insha Allah. I will make a formal statement in due course. Abdulmumin Jibrin.”
Recall Jubril had stated his position on a Southern presidency, in an interview with Arise, “I don’t think APC will try to toy around with that matter. I believe confidently that the Presidency is going to the Southern part and, when it goes there, Asiwaju stands out clearly in terms of experience, pedigree and competence and most importantly, the ability to win the election. His gap is quite huge more than anybody else”.
Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) has recovered more than $23 million stolen from Nigeria by the country's late military dictator Sani Abacha, it said on Thursday, the latest in a series of similar recoveries around the world.
Abacha ruled Africa's most populous nation and top oil exporter from 1993 until his death in 1998, a period during which he stole up to $5 billion of public money, according to Transparency International. He was never charged.
The money recovered in Britain forms part of a larger pool of funds identified by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) as having been misappropriated by Abacha and his associates, the NCA said in a statement.
"The NCA is committed to ensuring that the UK is not a safe haven for criminals to launder their proceeds of crime, and civil recovery of assets is a powerful weapon in this fight," said Billy Beattie, Asset Denial Senior Manager at the NCA.
Police say about 100 billion pounds ($123 billion) of dirty cash moves through or into Britain every year, buying everything from luxury homes to whole companies.
Leaked troves of financial documents such as the Panama, Paradise and Pandora Papers have documented London's role as a global money-laundering hub.
The $23 million were recovered after seven years of litigation and international negotiation pursued by the NCA, at the request of the DOJ, the statement said. The funds will be transferred to the DOJ.
An NCA spokesperson did not immediately respond to a query about whether the funds would ultimately return to Nigeria. In the past, countries including the United States and Switzerland have repatriated Abacha loot there.
Barring any urgent intervention, Nigeria’s foremost carrier, Aero Contractors may be on its way out of the skies after over 61 years of flight operations, according to a Thisday report.
With only two aged aircraft, Bombardier Dash 8-300 and Boeing 737-500 in their early 30s and bereft of operating cash, the airline is now on its knees about to shut the door for scheduled services.
Aero Contractors, which provided shuttle service for oil and gas industry for decades and extended its service to scheduled flight operations since 2000 has become moribund with over N50 billion debt overhang.
THISDAY investigations revealed that economic recession occasioned by the Covid-19 lockdown and protracted low season after December heavy passenger traffic demand, culminated to the financial drought of the airline.
It was learnt that currently, the airline finds it difficult to fuel its existing fleet.
Managing Director of the airline, Abdullahi Mahmood in a telephone interview confirmed the precarious state of the airline and identified factors that led to debilitating condition of the indigenous carrier.
Mahmood said that the airline could stop operation at any time because the management is finding it increasingly difficult to keep the aircraft in the airspace.
He said that high cost of foreign exchange, high maintenance cost, high cost of aviation fuel and low traffic are responsible for the bad condition of the airline.
According to him, “Maintenance cost is high, foreign exchange is not available and the high fuel price in addition to the fact that after the high Christmas season, there was low passenger traffic from later January till Easter period. Then we are also contending with overhead, which is so much.
“When you have no traffic and what you are generating cannot defray operating cost, you cannot survive. We are still operating but from the rate we are going we may shut down anytime.”
He also explained that because the aircraft in the fleet are old and breakdown very often, the cost of maintenance is high, “and spares have to be imported and even insuring the aircraft requires foreign exchange.”
When contacted, immediate past CEO of the airline, Ado Sanusi, confirmed that it is very unlikely that the airline would survive, except it urgently acquires new fleet.
Sanusi who took over the airline in February 2017, when it was in comatose said the airline was coming back from shutting down when he began to preside over its affairs.
“The airline had two aircraft, which were due for major checks, the C-check, passenger confidence was low and three of the airline’s aircraft were in maintenance facilities overseas. The airline was at the brink of collapse when we took it over”, he said.
Sanusi further explained that the airline was under receivership, as it was being managed by Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), “so what the airline needed was more aircraft, which would enable it to increase revenue.”
The AMCOM had invested so much money in the airline but was not ready to invest more, a situation that lead to Sanusi and his team to consider having the C-check conducted in-house.
“The engineers in the airline went to work, they took the Boeing 737 classic and successfully conducted C-check and received Aircraft Maintenance Organisation (AMO) certification from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
“The success of the C-check opened door for us because it restored passenger confidence, knowing that we had the ability to maintain our aircraft and from 40 to 50 per cent load factor, our passenger traffic grew to 80 per cent.
“AMCON was elated that they continued to support us. We sold assets we didn’t need and we brought back one of the three aircraft ferried overseas for maintenance and now had two Boeing and One Bombardier Dash 8. Our revenue rose from N180 million to N2 billion. We did a lot.
“We bought the engines of United Nigeria Airlines Boeing B737-300 aircraft. With our revenue, we revamped the rotary wing of the airline and would have clinched a multimillion-dollar deal with Total for shuttle service but because the airline was under receivership we didn’t. We even went into a strategic partnership with indigenous company to revive the rotary wing and was in that process when Covid-19 came,” Sanusi said.
“The Covid lockdown was the undoing of the airline, like many others in other parts of the world, “Sanusi said, adding, “It was during the lockdown that the Maintenance, Overhaul and Repair (MRO) facility came alive and began to engage in third party maintenance, which is maintenance of other airlines’ aircraft.”
”Immediately after the lockdown we were ready to go into business. Passenger demand was unprecedented. The prospect of Aero was very good. It had a chance to recover, but the biggest challenge was fleet renewal. Average age of the aircraft was late 20s or early 30s. We communicated to the shareholders.
‘We did not have the ability to do D-check, which was heavy check, but we later got approval and we conducted D-check on the Boeing 737 after which we would retire the aircraft, hoping that there would be fleet renewal in order to put the airline as an on-going concern”, Sanusi revealed.
Aero, is described as a fully made airline because it has scheduled operations wing, rotary wing, MRO and training school; no other airline in Nigeria came close.
For the airline to survive some of the workers had to be put on redundancy and at the peak of revival it had about 400 staff, about 100 in schedule wing, 10 in training and the others on administrative and maintenance and whenever it had more jobs on maintenance it recalled more technical staff.
On why the airline was going under, Sanui said, “The airline needs fleet renewal without which it cannot survive. External factors include high cost of aviation fuel, scarcity and high cost of forex, low passenger traffic, which was extraordinarily very low. When I left the airline had a good chance of survival, even coming out of receivership. But it needed strict financial management,” he said.
A former top manager of the airline said that the genesis of Nigeria’s foremost carrier started because of the way it went into scheduled passenger operation, the kind of aircraft it acquired, the age of the aircraft and “When AMCON took it over it did not inject enough fund into the airline. If sufficient funds were injected and the rotary wing was revived it would have survived; although the oil and gas industry was going down at a time when the price of crude crashed. The airline has good people but it needed finance,” he said.