OCTOBER 17, 2022

International students make a positive contribution of £25.9bn to the UK’s economy, research shows amid news that the government wants to curb the number of foreign students who can stay after finishing their studies.

Every part of the UK financially better off — on average by £390 per person — because of international students' contribution through fees and spending, according to research from the Higher Education Policy Institute, in conjunction with Universities UK.

The home secretary Suella Braverman is expected to consider measures to limit the number of dependants able to accompany international students to Britain, as it reviews migration rules.

Braverman has previously suggested the scale of foreign students coming to the UK to study is too high.

Earlier this October, she told the Sun on Sunday that: “We’ve got a very high number of students coming into this country and we’ve got a really high number of dependents.

“Students are coming on their student visa, but they’re bringing in family members who can piggyback onto their student visa.

“Those people are coming here, they’re not necessarily working or they’re working in low-skilled jobs, and they’re not contributing to growing our economy.”

Universities UK and Universities UK International are calling for the home secretary to retract her comments on international students, and to reaffirm the centrality of international students and their dependents to their own plans for the economic future of the UK.

The research shows that by limiting the number of international students in the UK, every MP stands to lose revenue that these students bring to their own constituencies.

Fareham, Braverman’s constituency, stands to lose up to £20.2m if the number of international students is limited.

In the case of prime minister Liz Truss’ constituency of South West Norfolk, revenue loss could reach £16m.

“The fact that so many international students choose to study in the UK is a real success story, and the UK benefits in many ways from hosting them. International students contribute to the UK’s global connections in trade, politics and in research, and they make an enormous economic contribution too,” CEO of Universities UK Vivienne Stern said.

“For a government focussed on growth, to try to reduce the appeal to international students would be bizarre, especially when you consider that they contribute nearly £26bn to the UK economy — and that this is spread throughout all parts of the UK.

“It is even more bizarre when recent growth in international student numbers has been a direct result of pro-growth government policies and visa changes. We strongly urge the government not to take such a retrograde step,” she added.

OCTOBER 17, 2022

By  Muideen Olaniyi

For the first time, President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday personally provided an update on the plan to establish a national carrier for Nigeria.

The President spoke on the matter in Abuja while declaring open the third Ministerial Performance Review Retreat organised to evaluate the level of progress made in the implementation of the Nine Priority Agenda of his administration.

Buhari said the establishment of Nigeria Air is at 91 per cent completion, and is expected to commence flight operations before the end of this year.

He said the feat is being boosted with the certification of Lagos and Abuja international airports by the International Civil Aviation Organization, while Kano and Port Harcourt Airports are undergoing similar certification processes.

The President said “high-impact projects” had been implemented across the country to meet the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians.

He highlighted progress made in the areas of agriculture, economy, infrastructure, security, health, anti-corruption among others.

Buhari told participants and guests at the retreat, including the Keynote Speaker and immediate past President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, that over 3,800 kilometres of roads had been constructed across the country, while 38 new aircraft were acquired for the Nigerian Air Force to boost the fight against insurgency.

He added that 38.7 million Nigerians had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, representing 35 per cent of the total eligible population target for vaccination.

On infrastructure, the President said: “In recognition of the importance of critical infrastructure in economic development and the quest of this administration to leave a lasting legacy, we have implemented high-impact projects across the length and breadth of the country that meet the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians.

“Some of the notable achievements include the completion of 326km Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri rail line and railway ancillary facilities; the completion of over  156.5km Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge railway modernization project with extension to Lagos Port, Apapa.

“On road projects, this administration has constructed 408Km of roads; 2,499Km of SUKUK roads and maintenance of 15,961Km of roads across the country.

“Key among these projects are the construction of 1.9km 2nd Niger Bridge linking Anambra and Delta States with 10.30km approach road; rehabilitation, construction and expansion of Lagos-Shagamu-Ibadan dual carriageway; the ongoing rehabilitation of Abuja-Kaduna – Zaria – Kano Road, among others.”

Senate President Ahmed Lawan delivered goodwill messages at the retreat.

OCTOBER 19, 2022

The Director, South-West, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Adedamola Kuti, has said that the inward and outward sections of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway will be completed on or before December 2022.

The PUNCH, in August, reported the challenges encountered by travellers when approaching Alausa in Ikeja, from Magboro. Some of these travellers spend hours on a journey that ordinarily should not be up to an hour.

Speaking with our correspondent in Lagos, Kuti said, “The entire Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, both inward and outward Lagos, will be completed in December 2022.”

Giving an update on the road construction, Kuti said the traffic gridlock on the axis was normal and would last till the end of the ongoing construction on the busy road.

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He said, “You can’t expect less from a road that is under construction and at the same time being used by people. Of course, there will be traffic and one thing people should know is that this particular highway is the busiest in the whole of West Africa.

“So, whatever people are experiencing there now is something we expected, because this road carries the whole traffic of all the 36 states.”

Giving reasons as to why the traffic on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway was bad, he further said, “Coming on four-lane into a construction zone, and in that construction zone, you can’t speed, the allowable speed in a construction zone is 30km/h. But now, we are not getting that 30km/h because when you stay longer, it is either a vehicle must have broken down, most especially at the diversion area.”

Kuti added, “Some of them, in trying to divert, will be struggling with each other and in the process, there will be an accident. Some even stop by to pick up passengers, while some people do petty business in the same area.”

Speaking further, he noted that if not for the above reasons mentioned, the road would be a continuous zone.

“One of the delays is the rain; it slows activity and the progress of work,” he stressed.

OCTOBER 19, 2022

According to the advisory on the Australian High Commission's website, there have been significant casualties and widespread damage to infrastructure caused by severe flooding.

ByChiamaka Okafor

The Australian government has advised its citizens not to travel to Nigeria.

In a travel advisory issued Wednesday, the Australian government listed flooding, terrorism and kidnapping as some of the reasons for the advisory.

According to the advisory on the Australian High Commission’s website, there have been significant casualties and widespread damage to infrastructure caused by severe flooding and as such essential services may be disrupted.

Nigerian authorities have announced over 500 deaths from floods that have affected about half of the country’s 36 states. Millions of people have also been displaced by the floods.

In its advisory, the Australian government advised its citizens to follow the advice of local authorities and check the media for updates.

Apart from flooding, Australia also mentioned the high crime rate in parts of Nigeria as a reason for the advisory.

“The potential for terrorism, kidnapping, crime and civil unrest remains high throughout Nigeria. If, despite our advice, you undertake travel within Nigeria, research routes and get professional security advice and support before departing,” it advised.

The government advised that its citizens should reconsider the need to travel to Nigeria, including the capital Abuja and surrounding areas, due to high threats of terrorist attack and kidnapping, the volatile security situation, possible violent civil unrest and high levels of violent crime.

It noted that people who have to travel to Nigeria are at risk of terrorist attacks, kidnappings violent civil unrest and crime.

The advisory stated that violent crime is common in Nigeria, including in parts of Lagos and Abuja. Politically-motivated violence, including terrorist bombings and armed attacks on both security forces and innocent bystanders, can occur throughout Nigeria, the Australian government said.

“Police maintain patrols and checkpoints in many locations in Nigeria, including in Abuja and at city entry points. Police officers or people posing as police officers may ask for bribes,” it noted.

It further warned its citizens living in Nigeria or visiting not to drive at night, due to the presence of official and unofficial checkpoints noting that intimidation may be used, including a display of weapons.

Although insecurity is commonplace in many parts of Nigeria, there are also several parts of the country where the crime rate is very low.

Some of the areas most affected by insecurity are the North-west and North-east states where terrorists operate, as well as the South-east states where armed insurgents carry out routine attacks.

Chiamaka Okafor is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe.

OCTOBER 20, 2022

Nigerian students and their dependants in the United Kingdom have contributed an estimated £1.9bn to the economy of the UK in one year, according to an analysis by SBM Intelligence.

The data covered the 2021/2022 academic session.

In the data made available to our correspondent on Wednesday,  it was estimated that a sum of £680,620,000 was reportedly paid as school fees with a total of £54.3m paid in taxes by working spouses of the students.

Further analysis of the data also revealed an estimated sum of £41.7m paid as health insurance; £408.37m was paid as rent while a total of £151.26m was paid as national insurance.

The PUNCH had earlier reported how foreign universities abroad profited from the gross underfunding of tertiary institutions in the country.

For instance, Nigerians spent $609.5m to acquire foreign education between January and August 2022. This was based on data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The PUNCH reports that Nigerians have continued to troop in their numbers in pursuit of foreign academic qualifications; for many of them, it is a means of leaving the country.

Recent data released by the Home Office of the United Kingdom revealed that the number of study visas released to Nigerians increased by 222.8 per cent to 65,929 in June 2022 from 20,427 in the same period of 2021.

The PUNCH reports that education in Nigeria, especially in tertiary education, has been marred by industrial actions.

The PUNCH reports that the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation observed that about 76,338 Nigerians were studying abroad as of 2018, the highest from an African country.

An education activist and Programme Director, Reform Education Nigeria, Ayodamola Oluwatoyin, who had spoken to our correspondent earlier, listed poor government policies as some of the reasons Nigerians seek better opportunities abroad.

OCTOBER 20, 2022

The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has confirmed that the construction of the 2nd Niger Bridge is now completed and may be released to commuters by December.

He stated this at a press briefing to unveil an end-of-term series entitled “PMB Administration Scorecard 2015-2023.”

The scorecard is designed to showcase the achievements of the  President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, retd,’s administration.

According to him, the only factor delaying the inauguration of the road is the construction of the link road which the recent surge of flooding has impeded.

He said, “I can confirm that the Second Niger Bridge itself is finished. People can walk through the bridge now unimpeded. What remains is the four-kilometre link road on the Asaba side.

“Right now, our dredger is in place, we have to rebuild the road by reclaiming sand, the recent surge of flood has slowed us down. On the Onitsha side, there is a seven-kilometre road that links the bridge and the Onitsha-Owerri interchange.”

“The commitment I made about the second Niger bridge at the retreat was that before this administration goes, it will be fully operational.”

The minister who showed reels of footage from the bridge reiterated his promise to ensure that the bridge is opened in December due to the high influx of commuters during festive periods.

“What I am targeting is to see if the road can be opened to the public before Christmas and I hope this will be achieved. Opening the road before Christmas will give relief to a large number of travellers who embark on journeys during that period.

Speaking on the impact of the projects, the former Lagos State governor noted that about 339,955 jobs were created in the built sector in the past seven years with 8,352.94km of roads completed while 250,583 road signs have been installed.

OCTOBER 20, 2022

By Wole Oyebade

•Nigerian airlines missing in top 10 African carriers

Nigerian flag carrier, Air Peace airline, has restored operations on the Lagos-Johannesburg route, though with reduced capacity of the operating aircraft.

Contrary to the massive Boeing 777 aircraft erstwhile flown on the route and other international corridors, the airline resumed the South African operations this week with the medium range 124-seater Embraer195-E2 airplane.

The Guardian learnt that the choice of regional aircraft and attendant smaller travellers were due to the yet unresolved delays in issuance of travel visas by the South African Embassy.

The biggest Nigerian carrier, by fleet capacity and passenger traffic, in August announced a 60 days break from the Lagos-Johannesburg route. It cited low patronage on account of the South African Embassy’s delay in granting approval to visa applicants in Nigeria, among other operational reasons.

At the end of the 60-day hiatus, spokesperson of the airline, Stanley Olisa, confirmed the resumption of flight services last Sunday.

The resumption, it was learnt, may not be unconnected with the coming year-end travels, though the fortune of Nigerians travelling to South Africa has not improved as the visa application protocol is still hectic due to a backlog at the Embassy.

But Air Peace’s use of an Embraer195-E2 124-seater airplane on the route is a tough choice. At 2,803 miles (4,511km), it’s the longest scheduled route by an Embraer aircraft. It’s just shy of the 3,000 miles (4,828km) often considered long-haul, and it’s longer by distance than Boston to San Francisco or London Heathrow to Dakar.

According to Flightradar24, flight P47563 left Nigeria at 02:44 and arrived in Johannesburg 5h 52m later at 09:36 local time. Returning, P47564 departed at 12:09 and arrived back home at 17:25 after some 6h 16m.

It is currently by far the longest scheduled passenger flight by an Embraer aircraft. It was operated by 5N-BYG, a 1.9-year-old E2 delivered in March 2021. It has 124 seats: 12 in business and 112 in economy.

In a related development, Air Peace and other Nigerian carriers have missed out on the log of 10 best African carriers in 2022, according to Skytrax World Airline survey.

Skytrax, which yearly evaluates best performing airlines globally, recently released its award list for the year. Indeed, it is the world’s largest, yearly airline passenger satisfaction survey, as it uses a value for money metric system to determine the methodology for its surveys.

A total of 13.42 million eligible survey entries were counted in the final results. The customer survey was carried out from September 2021 to August 2022.

In the African category, Ethiopia Airlines comes top again after emerging first in 2021. In the second position is Royal Air Maroc, the Moroccan national carrier and also the largest airline in the country. Third is the South African national carrier, South African Airlines (SAA).

Others, in order of their ratings are: Kenya Airways; Air Mauritius; EgyptAir; RwandAir; Safair from South Africa; Fastjet, a subsidiary of Fastjet Limited UK, operating primarily in Zimbabwe, and lastly, Air Seychelles, the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles.

OCTOBER 20, 2022

UK house prices slowed in August but growth remained in double-digit levels as the property market remains resilient to inflationary pressure and turmoil in the wider UK economy.

Fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Wednesday show property prices increased by 13.6% year-on-year in August.

That was down from 16% in July, which reflected how prices in the same month last year were hit by the end of a tax break for home-buyers.

The average cost of a home stood at £296,000 in August, which is £36,000 higher than in the year before.

James Forrester, managing director of Barrows and Forrester, said: "While the UK government may be a laughing stock, the UK property market is far from it and continues to move forward at pace despite the chaos that has unfolded across the wider economy.

"A commitment to cutting stamp duty will certainly act as the cherry on the cake for many homebuyers, but it’s their continued ability to borrow in order to buy that will keep the cogs of the property market turning.

"As it stands, they remain more than able, with the majority of lenders still offering a great level of products at what remain favourable rates. With stability now returning to the gilt markets, we can expect the mortgage sector to level out after what has been a rough few weeks and this will ensure the market remains in good health over the coming months."

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Average house prices increased over the year to £316,000 (14.3% annual growth) in England, to £220,000 in Wales (14.6%), to £195,000 in Scotland (9.7%) and to £169,000 in Northern Ireland (9.6%), according to the ONS.

London registered the lowest annual house price growth, where average prices increased by 8.3% over the year to August, down from 10.1% in the month prior.

But the capital remains the most expensive region to buy a home, with a record average price of £553,000 during the month.

Prices grew at the fastest rate in the south west of England at 17%, down from a growth rate of 21.1% in July 2022.

"House prices increased slightly on the month, with the fall in the annual rate of growth due to the large price rises seen at this time last year at the end of the stamp duty holiday," Matt Corder, deputy director of the prices division at the ONS said.

Meanwhile, rental price growth continued to increase, driven by London, Corded added. Although let rates were still "showing relatively low growth", it was the strongest increase in six years.

Rents climbed to 3.6% in the 12 months to September, up from 3.4% in August.

It comes as the government last month announced a stamp duty tax break for homebuyers as the cost of living surges.

Stamp duty land tax (SDLT) is a lump sum payment you have to make when purchasing property over a certain threshold.

Under the plans announced in September as part of the mini-budget, no stamp duty needs to be paid on the first £250,000 of a property – up from the previous £125,000 threshold.

First-time buyers do not have to pay any stamp duty on property up to £425,000, up from £300,000.

The value of a property on which first-time buyers can claim relief also increased, from £500,000 to £625,000.

OCTOBER 21, 2022

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), has announced the evacuation of 500 Nigerians stranded in United Arab Emirate, Dubai.

In September, a viral video surfaced online in which some Nigerians were reportedly stranded at the Dubai international airport and their passports seized.

Chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, had said despite being warned, some Nigerians who were sent back from Dubai tried to circumvent the new visa rules of the United Arab Emirates.

To this end, the Head of Press Unit, NEMA, Manzo Ezekiel, in an invitation preceding their arrival, said the evacuees are expected to arrive at the Hajj Terminal of General Aviation Terminal (GAT) private wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, in Max Air, on October 22, at about 7: 30am

He said: “About 500 stranded Nigerians in Dubai and are being evacuated back home by the Federal Government are expected to arrive Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Saturday early morning 22nd Oct 2022.

“I am directed to request you to cover reception for the returnees at the Hajj Terminal of General Aviation Terminal (GAT) private wing NAIA, Abuja.”

BY Ajiri Daniels

OCTOBER 21, 2022

(Bloomberg) -- Sales of previously owned US homes fell for an eighth straight month in September, underscoring how soaring mortgage rates are punishing the housing market. 

Contract closings declined 1.5% to an annualized pace of 4.71 million last month, the slowest since May 2020, according to data from the National Association of Realtors on Thursday. The figure was in line with the median projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

The stretch of monthly declines is the longest since 2007, when a housing market collapse swept the economy into the Great Recession. Home sales this year have deteriorated rapidly as the Federal Reserve kicked off an aggressive campaign to crush inflation with huge interest-rate hikes. 

“We are not yet at the bottom,” Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist said on a call with reporters. Yun expects the figures to keep deteriorating given the current data is not reflective of where mortgage rates are now.

Mortgage rates now stand at a two-decade high, and applications to purchase or refinance a home have crumbled to levels not seen since 1997. 

“Despite weaker sales, multiple offers are still occurring with more than a quarter of homes selling above list price due to limited inventory,” Yun said in a statement. “The current lack of supply underscores the vast contrast with the previous major market downturn from 2008 to 2010, when inventory levels were four times higher than they are today.”

The median selling price rose 8.4% from a year earlier to $384,800. Even so, that’s the lowest since March.

Separate data out earlier this week showed builders are pulling back as well. Beginning construction of single-family homes dropped to a two-year low, and homebuilder sentiment has fallen every month this year. 

The number of homes for sale declined from August to 1.25 million. At the current sales pace it would take 3.2 months to sell all the homes on the market, up from 2.4 months in September 2021. Realtors see anything below five months of supply as indicative of a tight market.

Properties remained on the market for longer in September, and 70% of homes sold were on the market for less than a month, down from 81% in August.

Hurricane Ian

Sales fell in three of four regions, including a 1.9% drop in the South. The Fort Myers and Tampa regions of Florida saw a marked drop in purchases in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, Yun said. He described the disruption as temporary.

Sales in the West were unchanged from a month earlier, though down more than 31% from a year ago. 

First-time buyers made up 29% of purchases in September, the same share as a month earlier. Yun noted distressed sales are inching higher, though they remain historically low.

Digging Deeper

• Properties remained on the market for an average of 19 days, up from 16 days in August
• Cash sales represented 22% of total sales. Investors, who often purchase with cash and are therefore less sensitive to mortgage rates, made up 15% of the market
• Sales of single-family homes dropped 0.9% from a month earlier, while existing condominium and co-op sales fell 5.8>#/li###
• Existing-home sales account for about 90% of US housing and are calculated when a contract closes. New-home sales, which make up the remainder, are based on contract signings, and will be released next week

--With assistance from Jordan Yadoo.

(Adds graphic)