LASG Disbands Ministry of Transportation (MOT) Enforcement Team 

The Lagos Ministry of Transportation has placed an indefinite ban on the operations of its enforcement team tagged M.O.T Taskforce. 

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Mr. Sola Giwa, in a statement released, stated that the decision was reached after a thorough appraisal and review of the enforcement teams operating under the Ministry of Transportation. 

Giwa explained that the ban is part of measures initiated to streamline transport enforcement activities in Lagos State to achieve the required effectiveness in line with global best practices, warning that the ban is not an excuse for drivers to disobey the traffic laws of the State

The statement partly reads that, ''The Special Adviser averred that Traffic Management and Transportation is a cardinal pillar in the T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda of the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, stressing that the readjustment of the enforcement strategy was to enhance service delivery to the people of the State.

He, therefore, enjoined the general public to report the activities of any unauthorised enforcement team still operating with the tag M.O.T Taskforce to the Ministry of Transportation for prosecution. 

Appealing to Lagosians to cooperate with the State Government in its effort to improve the traffic situation across the metropolis, the Special Adviser gave an assurance that a lot is ongoing behind the scene to bring the much-desired change in the transport sector.''

Aero Plans coming back

 Aero Contractors take Delivery of Aircraft, Ink Deal with UMZA Express 

ZAINAB JUNAID

Few weeks after suspension of its scheduled flight operations, Nigeria’s oldest carrier, Aero Contractors has not relented efforts in hastening its resumption back to Air as it has entered into a Joint Venture Agreement with UMZA Air to take delivery of the first set of two Dash-8 (Q-400) aircraft.

The aircraft which was delivered on Thursday is owned by UMZA Air and will be operated by Aero Contractors under a JOINT VENTURE AGREEMENT between both parties.

The Dash 8 Nigerian registered aircraft is said to be one of the most fuel efficient and modern aircraft in the market and has a capacity of 74 seats.

According to the airline, the second aircraft is due to be delivered in a couple of days. 

Speaking on this development, the Managing Director of the Airline, Abdullahi Mahmood, said: “We are pleased to inform our customers and stakeholders of the delivery of this aircraft under a joint venture agreement with UMZA Air

“We missed our customers over the last few weeks and we are eager to offer our services to our highly esteemed passengers. 

“Once we are ready to commence operation we shall officially inform the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

“We shall announce our resumption of services with a new schedule soon once we are ready,” he said. 

Stakeholders Praise

Stakeholders Commend Apapa Customs Command Over Improved Port Security

 ZAINAB JUNAID

 

Stakeholders in Apapa Port Lagos have praised Comptroller Yusuf Malanta, the Nigerian Customs Area Controller Apapa Customs Command, for restoring sanity back to Apapa Port just as peace and orderliness now triumph in Port environment for business to thrive. 

 While fielding questions with Maritime Journalists at the ports, some clearing agent/ Freight Forwarders sighted sign of relief as the day of delays in examination and false declaration, extortion and bringing in prohibited items are over. 

 Mr. Patrick Offodile, one of the clearing agent said that the professional expertise brought to bear on the command by the Present Enforcement officer, DC Musa Yusuf is largely responsible for this appreciable peace and tranquility in the port. 

Another clearing agent, Chief Bright Ekekwe, also praised the method adopted by the DC saying that, “The DC is making sure that his officers are present at the examination spot to ensure things are in order. DC Yusuf has made visiting the terminal at odd hours to see how the terminal operator are complying a hobby. He sometimes move around the port with his patrol team. This method has brought members of the public closer to the Customs. Thus, there is understanding and synergy in line with the detect of Customs Operations,” he said.

With this achievement, Bright described DC Yusuf as a disciplined, informed and committed to creating a good and orderly society. 

Other freight forwarders who spoke on condition of anonymity to Maritime Connect online, said that if these decent crop of Customs officer in Apapa port are replicated in other parts of the country, one can be sure of having a better Nigeria.

Rethink and a Reset Aviation

 Industry Experts Call for A ‘Rethink and a Reset’ in Aviation Manners 

ZAINAB JUNAID 

Stakeholders in the aviation sector have called on various players in the industry to deploy decisive actions that requires a total rethink and resetting of the way they conceive and manage their aviation manners. 

Speaking at the 26th annual conference of the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondence (LAAC) themed Sunset Airport: Economic and Safety Implications, Director, Centre for International and Professional Studies (CIAPS), Professor Anthony Kila, affirmed that industry operators need to go beyond flying, selling or distributing tickets, but to represent their challenges as rewarding opportunities to capable innovators, inventors and investors. 

“Maintenance of equipment, refining of aviation fuel, training and development of human capital, deployment of distribution systems and other problems that are adversely affecting the sector can and should be thrown open to the market as opportunities for players outside the aviation sector. 

“To do all these and much more, requires the ability to conceive, shape and propose rewarding and sustainable partnership between the public and private sectors, it requires a collaboration of thinkers and doers but above all, it requires a leadership that can clearly and boldly rethink and reset aviation,” he agitated. 

Rating the Nigeria’s aviation industry higher compared to other sectors with the multiple challenges it currently faced is nothing to move near as it’s key players-airlines, airport operators, oil marketers, ground handlers, catering services and all safety stakeholders in recent months have had to contend with mirage of challenges, which have hitherto brought adverse effect on them.

 A situation where a litre of Jet A1 goes as high as N800 and simultaneously having our Naira to a dollar standing at over N720 is ridiculous which has forced a major carrier, Aero Contractors, to fold the wings of its scheduled flights. 

The exorbitant and unsustainable expenditures they have to incur in order to operate their scheduled flights and lack of equipment needed for their processes pushed them to this level. Another carrier on its part, Dana Air was forced to quit the field operation over poor liquidity by the apex regulator, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

In both cases the results are stranded angry and, in some cases violent passengers, that have to deal with disrupted plans and the challenges of looking for replacement flights at prices way higher than what they initially budgeted and paid for. Besides, frustrated airline staff faced with uncertainty about their professional lives. 

Professor Kila described the prevailing issues as an anachronistic misconception that needs to be deliberately and assertively corrected. 

“The deep and hurting reality is that we have an aviation crisis and emergency in our hands in this country. It is a crisis because high cost of flights and shutting down of airlines in a country as big as ours in the times we live in looks very bad and it is leading to serious disruptions. 

“It is an emergency because we cannot afford to let the situation play out itself and we cannot be patient and wait for long term solutions. We need to act swiftly and decisively to deal with this situation so that this very bad situation we have at hand does not turn into an unmanageable disaster,” he said.

 However, while deliberating on the implications of Sunset Airport in Nigeria, Bankole Bernard, Group Managing Director Finchglow Holdings opined that the country can start with modernisation of the airport terminals with shopping malls which will attract sunset operations at the airports. 

Group MD Finchglow Holdings, Bankole Bernard. 

He said, “Given the numerous challenges faced in the industry indicates that what we currently have in the sector requires some improvement before we can run 24 hrs operations. On the part of Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) , the airport operator, has reported that on different occasions, it has requested that some airports should be given room to operate 24/7 but in the end pulled back when it came to financing. Having said this, it is clear that both the operator and the facility manager have challenges of their own, however, if properly done, the economic impact of putting our airports to maximum use will be actualize. A shift from only aeronautical sources of revenue can better position us economically in the Nigerian Aviation Industry. We can also start with the modernization of airport terminals with shopping malls. This will contribute to the commercial viability of the airports and other necessary infrastructures like the internet and constant power supply to support businesses. 

He continued, “We must begin to think of an alternative power supply like renewable energy to keep the airport functional and reduce the cost of operation in the long run. This will also make the airport viable and attractive. 

“Another area to consider is providing affordable hotels which will give credence to investments. The ability to provide BnB (Bed & Breakfast) hotels around the terminals of some of these airports will be of great attraction and will increase the viability of the airport as well. 

“Lastly, there is the area of interconnectivity within the airports. The interconnectivity of the local airports to the international airports will contribute to the economic viability of these airports. It will also bring the connection to such airports, hence it will not be limited to one drop-off and pick-up. When all these are in place, we can then talk of 24 hrs operations at our airports, “ he said

Airlines Lose 4.3bn

Nigerian Airlines Lose #4.3bn Annually to Restriction of Sunset Flight Operations—Uriesi 

ZAINAB JUNAID

The Chief Operating Officer, COO of Ibom Air, Mr George Uriesi, has said that Nigerian Airlines are currently deprived of a profit worth #4.3bn annually from being restricted to operate sunset flights. 

Mr Uriesi said this while delivering a paper titled “Maximizing Runway Utilization: A Nigerian Airline Perspective at the 26th annual conference of the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondence (LAAC) themed – ‘Sunset Airports: Economic and Safety Implications’ held on Thursday 28, 2022 at Sheraton, Ikeja,  Lagos.

He explained that the airlines were 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 lost to lack of sunset airport operations in the country. 

This restriction according to him, had led to huge under-utilisation of aircraft fleets by the Nigerian Airlines as against the global industry standards. 

Uriesi said the setback is due partly because of too many impediments in the operating environment that limit airline productivity, which includes limited availability of runways across domestic network, multiple operational infrastructure deficiencies, poor organisation and many others. 

In view of these setbacks, he 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. 

He also advised that government should make approved master plans a regulatory requirement for every airport and make non adherence to the master plans by any organization illegal. 

“There is need to establish a local aircraft lessor /financing vehicle that would allow for the domiciling of aircraft payments in local currency would make a huge difference to the air transport sector in Nigeria,” Uriesi maintained. 

FG Approves three Aircraft for Nigeria Air

 

FG Approves Lease of Three Aircraft to Nigeria Air 

ZAINAB JUNAID 

As part of the vision to ease air traveling in the country, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has given Nigeria Air approval to lease aircraft to start operations. The three aircraft are made by Airbus and Boeing companies respectively and Nigeria Air will resume operations with domestic routes. 

 

The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, announced this Wednesday, July 27, while briefing journalists after the FEC meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.

Sirika noted that the flight operations will first begin locally, then progress to regional and international routes going forward.

Despite existing challenges faced by the industry, especially the rising cost of aviation fuel, also known as Jet A1, and foreign exchange rates issue, the Federal Government is not backing off from its plan to take off the airline soonest. 

 

The Nigerian national carrier logo had been launched abroad, few years ago, when stakeholders in the Nigerian aviation sector took to an air fair to explore options available to it for effective execution.

This will be including taxes at a central bank exchange rate of 472 in Euro with the delivery period of 11 months and is awarded to Messers Integrated Contract Services Limited for AIB.

 

Sirika said, "I presented two memoranda on the national carrier to allow Nigeria to lease aircraft to start operations. That has been approved by the council. And the second is the deployment of investigation tools by the Accident Investigation Bureau. That tool, will permit the accident investigation to be able to decode going ons in flights, and God forbid, should there be a need to investigate the accident or incident, the tool will help them to be able to do so. That procurement is in sum of 1,506,285.7 euros which is equivalent to N707,962,864.83.

"On how many aircraft, I have said in our business plan, in the outline business case which is approved which are presented right here in this hall, I said that we are starting with three aircraft, for the first instance, to do the runs and then we progress. As to the make and type, we will be having eventually a mix of the two, the Air Buses and the Boeings.

Because every airline that to grow big is either or, most of them are either Air Bus or they are Boeing, especially for the Intercontinental and international flights. And this will start as a domestic airline. And then it will of course grow to become regional and international also intercontinental. On the timeline, is a process we’re progressing. We will announce the commencement date soon.

 

"On how they’re going to pull this through with the hiccups the aviation is facing, well certainly it is a global phenomenon. If you, of course, I’m very sure you are abreast with the going on around the aviation industry.

"But suddenly it’s not here forever. Aviation is a very resilient activity. From time before, it always takes a dip and then comes back up. We saw it in 9/11, we saw it in the south, we saw it in the global meltdown. We saw it in Pearl Harbor, and so on and so forth. So aviation is very resilient. And I think we’ll get out of the problems we are facing. Of particular reference, yesterday all of you were present when we discussed with The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) the challenges we’re facing in terms of Jet A1 availability and of course pricing, which is 40% of the operations of the airline.

 

"We’re finding solutions to those problems and the cost of funds also is being attended to and so on and so forth. So yes, we will get there. And it’s doable and by God’s grace"

MAJAN President Salutes NAGAFF ACADEMY MGT

 MAJAN President Salutes NAGAFF Academy on 3rd matriculation ceremony

ZAINAB JUNAID 

The President of the Maritime Journalists Association of Nigeria (MAJAN), Comrade Ray Ugochukwu, has saluted NAGAFF Academy for its forth coming 3rd Matriculation ceremony slated for Friday, July 29, 2022.

Comrade Ugochukwu, made this commendation in a statement made available to MAJAN members on Wednesday. 

While appraising the Founder, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Dr Boniface Aniebonam and entire management of NAGAFF Academy for their hard work and resilience in moving Nigerian Maritime industry to greater heights, Comrade Ugochukwu, a seasoned Journalist, described Dr Aniebonam as an epitome of greatness and a rare gem to the maritime industry and Nigeria as a nation.

He also applauded the Registrar of NAGAFF Academy, Dr. Francis Idowu Omotosho for his intelligence and ingenuity in running the Academy efficiently, describing him as a world class scholar, whose academic prowess has attracted recognition within and outside the shores of Nigeria.

The Matriculation lecture scheduled for 12noon at NAGAFF headquarters, Apapa, Lagos, will have in attendance the Chief Executive Officer of  Nigerian Shippers' Council, Mr Emmanuel Jimefnis as Guest  Speaker and Dr Aniebonam, as Chief Host.

The theme of the lecture is; 'Freight Forwarding as a career - benefits to the nation’.