Nigeria's broadcast regulator has fined Multichoice Nigeria Ltd, part of a South African pay-TV group, and others 5 million naira ($12,013) each for airing a BBC report that it said "glorified the activities of bandits and undermines national security."

The National Broadcasting Commission said in a statement on Wednesday that the outlets had until Aug. 30 to pay.

It also fined local channel Trust TV, part of the group that owns the prominent Daily Trust newspaper, for its own report on banditry.

"The Commission wishes to seize this opportunity to advise broadcasters to be circumspect and deliberate in the choice and carriage of contents deleterious to Nigeria's national security," NBC said in a statement.

The Daily Trust quoted its management as saying, "We wish to state unequivocally that as a television station, we believe we were acting in the public interest by shedding light on the thorny issue of banditry."

"This story is overwhelmingly in the public interest and the BBC stands by its journalism," the BBC said in an emailed statement.

Multichoice had no immediate comment.

Armed criminals, known locally as bandits, have kidnapped thousands of Nigerians over the past two years.

Free speech and democracy activists in Africa's most populous country have raised the alarm over what they say are erosions to freedom of expression in recent years, including last year's ban on social media platform Twitter.

Nigeria has a presidential election in February in which deteriorating security nationwide could play a prominent role.

Federal government has confirmed the procurement of 10 vehicles worth N1.14 billion for the Niger Republic.

Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, said this on Wednesday after the federal executive council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.

The minister said Nigeria has a policy of assisting its neighbouring countries.

On Wednesday, David Hundeyin, a journalist, released a document online indicating that the president approved the fund on February 22, 2022, while the contract to supply the 10 units of Toyota Land Cruisers were awarded to IFO Kaura Motors Nig. Limited for the neighbouring nation.

The document showed that N1.145 billion was released for the purpose.

Speaking further on the procurement, Ahmed said even though Nigerians have the right to question, President Muhammadu Buhari, who approved the purchase, also has the right to make his assessment of situations and act accordingly.

“Let me just say that over time, Nigeria has had to support its neighbours, especially the immediate neighbours to enhance their capacity to secure their countries as it relates to us. This is not the first time that Nigeria had assisted the Niger Republic, Cameroon or Chad,” she said.

“The president makes an assessment as to what is required based on the request of their presidents. Such requests are approved, and interventions were provided.

“It is to enhance their capacity to protect their countries, as it relates to security and also to Nigeria.”

By Dahiru Maishanu 

The current wave of defections of political heavyweights leaving the APC to the PDP in Sokoto has brought a lot of, hitherto hidden facts to the public domain.  

A lot of commentaries have been made on the reasons likely responsible for the seemingly unstoppable Tsunami.  Obviously, the party has been bruised already beyond recognition and needs more than miracles to recover. 

The Tsunami however, though not directly the subject of this piece, is complicit.  It serves as a catalyst for a nostalgic revisit of the political savvy of the political giant at the centre of the massive political upset the APC is witnessing in Sokoto and elsewhere in the country. Rt. Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal is no doubt both the ‘bow’ and the ‘arrow’ of this “revolution”.

It all began on the first day of August 2018 when, against all serene comprehension,  Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal woke up and told everyone who cared to listen that he was leaving the Party that brought him to power  and the Party at the centre,  the APC to the PDP, a mere struggling opposition party. Of course,  he must have made his own calculations before arriving at such a decision. 

The journey had been tricky,  tumultuous and akin to  every relative adjective you can use to qualify it. The Governor took up the gauntlet, prepared well,  braved the odds,  reloaded his arsenals like never before and ventured into the war front with an uncommon bravado and an almost suicidal  gallantry.  

We all thought he was going berserk,  astray and committing Broad day suicide for venturing into this journey of no return. We thought he would not survive the onslaught and would only be returned in a political casket  through the services of an Undertaker, and despatched to the great beyond.  

We left our friend in the  wilderness, to carry his own cross but he proved us all wrong. Only the late Barrister Inuwa Abdulkadir believed him; but even him, pecked from a ‘safe’ distance. That was vintage Rt. Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal in his true elements. 

At the declaration,  he described the country’s democratic experience under the APC government as a ‘prison yard’ democracy . He subsequently covered all the fronts and fought the old war horse, Senator Aliyu Wamakko and his army of foot soldiers and brigades of area boys from head to toe.  

He eventually emerged victorious against all predictions and booby traps set up for him. The Governor was later subjected to litigations at the electoral Tribunals which went all the way  to the highest court of the land, the Supreme Court and still, he emerged victorious.

The present scenario therefore is no strange terrain to the former Speaker. 

With the calibre of those politicians that have so far decamped to the PDP in Sokoto,  all pointers are signifying a repeat of the 2019 episode with even more casualties for the APC come 2023. 

Three former APC, gubernatorial candidates, two former Senators,  two former Ambassadors, and many former commissioners with their hordes of supporters were amongst thousands of APC supporters who changed sides to the PDP in the latest count. 

Finally, Tambuwal is again proving the master strategist that he is.  He is stealthily gathering momentum as the countdown to the 2023 elections continues.  From all indices,  victory for Tambuwal seems a fait accompli.

Dahiru Maishanu 

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Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, on Sunday met some of his colleagues elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party and some other party faithful who were behind his presidential campaign.

The meeting held at the Rivers Governor’s Lodge, Abuja, was the first by the group after the party’s special national convention which produced Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate.

A member of the party’s Board of Trustees, Jerry Gana, spoke with journalists, on behalf of the group, after the meeting.

Gana said, “We know that developments will unfold and when they do, we shall brief Nigerians. We have met together for the first time after the primaries of the PDP.

“We have frankly reviewed matters among ourselves; we want to confirm we are solidly together as a group.”

Those who attended the meeting included Governors Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, Samuel Ortom of Benue State and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State.

Also in attendance were former Governors Donald Duke of Cross River State, Gabriel Suswam of Benue State, Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State, Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, Ibrahim Idris of Kogi State, Jonah Jang of Plateau State and Hassan Dankwambo of Gombe State.

Others are former PDP Deputy National Vice Chairman, North, Senator Suleiman Nazif; former Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Mohammed Adoke; and a member of the House of Representatives from Kogi State, Tajudeen Yusuf.

The 2021 viral hepatitis scorecard by the World Health Organisation indicates that an estimated 998,000 children under five years in Nigeria are chronic carriers of Hepatitis-B antigen.

The scorecard also showed that not less than 11,679,000 other Nigerians are chronic carriers of viral Hepatitis-B.

The scorecard, obtained by our correspondent on Sunday, looks at data from the African region but focuses on Hepatitis B and C, both of which cause liver cirrhosis and cancer.

It discovered that in 19 countries, more than 8% of the population is infected with Hepatitis B, while in 18 countries, more than 1% of the population lives with Hepatitis C.

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver that is caused by a variety of infectious viruses and non-infectious agents, leading to a range of health problems, some of which can be fatal. There are five main strains of the hepatitis virus, referred to as types A, B, C, D, and E.

In particular, types B and C lead to chronic disease in hundreds of millions of people and, together, are the most common causes of liver cirrhosis, liver cancer, and viral hepatitis-related deaths.

The Hepatitis B virus is most commonly transmitted from mother to child during birth and delivery, as well as through contact with blood or other body fluids during sex with an infected partner, unsafe injections, or exposure to sharp instruments.

The scorecard showed that Nigeria has one of the highest numbers of people who are chronic carriers of the deadliest strain of the virus among the listed 47 member states in the African region.

It noted that Nigeria’s prevalence of the anti-hepatitis C virus is at 1.3%.

The report noted that while Nigeria has a national hepatitis treatment programme and a national strategic plan for viral hepatitis, the hepatitis B immunisation coverage is at 58%.

According to the WHO, Africa accounts for roughly 70% of all hepatitis B infections worldwide. It can take decades after infection by the virus before an individual starts manifesting symptoms.

The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, said, “Hepatitis has been called the silent epidemic, but this scorecard is sounding an alarm for the region and the world to hear.

“We must do better and stop this disease from stealing away our children’s future. There is a safe and effective vaccine that provides nearly 100% protections against Hepatitis B, one of the virus’s most lethal strains. We must ensure that all African children are vaccinated within 24 hours of their birth and are followed up with two or more doses of the vaccine. “

Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Musa Nuhu, has said one of the many reasons some airports are restricted to sunrise – sunset flight operations in Nigeria is to eliminate or mitigate the safety implications and challenges of night operations.

He spoke just as it emerged that Nigerian airlines lose at least N4.3bn annually due to the inability of most airports to operate for 24 hours.

Our correspondent reports that apart from the major international airports in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt, other airports in Nigeria are tagged sunset airports as they cannot operate beyond 6 or 7 p.m. daily.

The DG, represented by the Director of Airports and Aerodrome Standard, Tayib Odunowo, spoke at the 26th conference of League of Airports and Aviation Correspondents held in Lagos, with the theme: “Sunset Airports: Economic and Safety Implications.”

Some of the challenges he itemised that are militating against 24-hour operation are inadequate infrastructure; airports poor financial outlays; security risks and threats; inadequate Airport and ANS Infrastructure; traffic level; airline capacity among others.

He disclosed that Nigeria needs over N1.5 trillion Naira or 5 billion US dollars to fix the airport infrastructure gap in the country, quoting the African Development Bank (2019) report.

He said, “There are issues involving fire cover, primary and secondary power sources, provision of communication, navigation and surveillance aids, automatic weather stations and now-casting equipment among others.

He however said the challenges can be addressed by developing Air Navigation Services (ANS); Airport infrastructure; developing Ancillary Infrastructure; Aerotropolis and others.

He noted that maintenance and service delivery at many airports in Nigeria are still seen as a great disincentive to travelling and tourism, advising that a lot needs to be done to make the airports economic tools for Nigeria’s development.

Chief Operating Officer (COO), Ibom Air, George Uriesi, stated that airlines are bleeding because of lack of 24 hours flight operations to major routes in Nigeria.

In his presentation on “Maximising Runway Utilisation: A Nigerian Airline Perspective,” he disclosed that the country’s carriers are losing an average of N4 million per flight, N12 million in every flight, N360 million in 90 flights and N4.3 billion annually on every flight to sunset airport operations.

He said while aircraft are designed to operate for 24 hours, they are underutilised because of the operational restriction caused by the absence of required facilities to operate for 24 hours at most airports in Nigeria.

To address the problem, Uriesi appealed to the government to prioritise airfield infrastructure and provide the necessary Instrument Landing System (ILS) and accompanying accessories for every airport, while also keeping the aerodromes open to meet the needs of airlines and other users.

Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) said it will soon replace the existing means of identification for persons applying for business and company registration with the National Identification Number (NIN).

Registrar-General of the commission, Garba Abubakar, disclosed this during the 2022 Management Retreat held in Kano.

Abubakar said integrating with the National Management Data would replace use of passport, driver’s licence and others for identification for the purpose of registration with the CAC.

“For every Nigerian and a foreigner residing in Nigeria, all we will require from you moving forward is your NIN, and we will validate your information from the NIN. If there are discrepancies, we will not register; you have to rectify it,” he stated.

He further noted that the commission is working to provide a system that would allow for submission of financial information effortlessly with more efficiency than the current system.

Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) has blamed the federal government for failing to provide a N400 billion fund and other promises after the 2013 privatisation to ensure the Distribution Companies (DisCos) improve services.

According to a statement by the Executive Director, Research and Advocacy, ANED, Sunday Oduntan, on Sunday, despite the failure of the government on these promises, it announced restructuring of five DisCos early July 2022 by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

ANED said the “restructuring” was inconsistent with all the guidelines and processes of the privatization agreements and the rule of law.

“We believe that it is reasonable to conclude that the resultant outcome has been an expropriation or backdoor renationalization of the DisCos by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN),” it stated.

Giving a background to the challenges of the DisCos, the association said, “Fundamentally, the basis of privatization was flawed from the beginning, due to conditions that were not met by the FGN, while expecting the DisCos to meet their performance obligations.”

It said the DisCos’ investors were short-changed because of insufficient and unreliable data from BPE during the privatization process while the government failed to deliver its commitments on ensuring debt-free financial books, clearance of all Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDA) electricity debts.

ANED said government failed to provide “N400 billion subsidy, implement a cost reflective electricity tariff and private management of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), currently, a government-owned and operated entity.”

While ANED said the DisCos take responsibilities for some issues, it stated that the government also contributed to the challenges.

It said the government holds 40% stakes in the DisCos, has representatives on the boards that take operational decisions but the DisCos are blamed for the misalignment in the power sector.

“Expropriation or renationalisation, by itself, of the DisCos will not change the current bleak situation or outlook of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI),” ANED noted.

Central Bank of Nigeria is concerned about the value of the naira and is making deliberate efforts to avert a further downward slide in the currency, it said on Friday.

The naira has fallen to successive record lows on the parallel market due to dollar scarcity since July 2021, when the central bank stopped forex sales to retail currency traders to ease pressure on reserves and support the official market.

The move funnelled demand toward the unofficial market , where the currency is freely traded. The currency has been trading within a range on the official market.

Lawmakers said on Wednesday the policy had "contributed to the excessive scarcity of forex in Nigeria" and summoned Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele over the "free fall of the naira".

The naira hit a record low of 705 per dollar on the black market on Thursday, traders said, adding that discussions were ongoing with the central bank.

"The CBN remained committed to resolving the foreign exchange issues confronting the nation and as such has been working to manage both the demand and supply side challenges," the central bank said.

The bank said demand pressure was huge from manufacturers and individuals paying school and hospital fees abroad and that it was looking at ways to earn forex in the wake of dwindling oil proceeds.

Nigeria relies on imports for most of what it consumes. The central bank said the country needs to look inwards and adjust its consumption patterns, as one solution to the current challenge.

Emefiele has since introduced controls to restrict access to U.S. dollars for certain imports to boost local production.

The country's currency troubles worsened after foreign investors fled as oil prices collapsed in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, increasing Nigeria's funding requirement. Oil prices have since recovered but investors are yet to return.

Emirates Airlines, flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), says it will reduce its flight operations to Nigeria over the inability to repatriate $85 million in revenue. 

Last month, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Nigeria was withholding revenue worth about $450 million earned by foreign airlines operating in the country. 

The airline said this in a letter addressed to Hadi Sirika, minister of aviation, dated July 22, 2020, and signed by Majid Al Mualla, Emirates airline’s divisional senior vice-president (DSVP), international affairs. 

Emirates said the planned reductions in its operations in Nigeria would take effect from August 15, 2022. 

It added that flights would be reduced from 11 per week to 7 per week at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA).

“We have had no choice but to take this action, to mitigate the continued losses Emirates is experiencing as a result of funds being blocked in Nigeria,” it said. 

“As of July 2022, Emirates has US$ 85 million of funds awaiting repatriation from Nigeria. This figure has been rising by more than $US 10 million every month, as the ongoing operational costs of our 11 weekly flights to Lagos and 5 to Abuja continue to accumulate.”

It said the funds are urgently needed to meet its operational costs and maintain the commercial viability of its services to Nigeria. 

“We simply cannot continue to operate at the current level in the face of mounting losses, especially in the challenging post-Covid-19 climate. 

Emirates did try to stem the losses by proposing to pay for fuel in Nigeria in Nairas, which would have at least reduced one element of our ongoing costs, however, this request was denied by the supplier,” the statement reads. 

“This means that not only are Emirates’ revenues accumulating, we also have to send hard currency into Nigeria to sustain our own operation. Meanwhile, our revenues are out of reach, and not even earning credit interest.

“Your Excellency, this is not a decision we have taken lightly. Indeed, we have made every effort to work with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to find a solution to this issue. Our Senior Vice-President met with the Deputy Governor of the CBN in May and followed up on the meeting by letter to the Governor himself the following month, however no positive response was received.

“Meetings were also held with Emirates’ own bank in Nigeria and in collaboration with IATA to discuss improving FX allocation, but with limited success. Despite our considerable efforts, the situation continues to deteriorate. We are now in the unfortunate position of having to cut flights, to mitigate against further losses going forward.”

Emirates added the issue was primarily a financial constraint, urging the Nigerian government to support.

“We are confident that your valuable involvement would make a real difference in improving this very difficult situation. Should there be any positive development in the coming days, we will, of course, re-evaluate this decision,” it said.