Travel News

KADUNA, Nigeria, Dec 1 (Reuters) - A Nigerian Air Force helicopter crashed shortly after takeoff in the southern oil hub of Port Harcourt on Friday but all five crew members survived with only minor injuries, a spokesperson said.

The incident occurred at about 0645 GMT shortly after the MI-35P helicopter took off for an operation in the oil-rich Rivers State, a region rife with rampant oil theft, Air Force spokesperson Edward Gabkwet said in a statement.

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BY  Kelvin Okojie 

A disturbing development fast becoming a major concern for most companies in Nigeria has taken its toll on the investment banking and financial advisory industries as SBG Securities Research, a member of Standard Bank Group, issued a statement in its investor note that it will no longer be providing coverage on the analysis of sub-Saharan African food producers and beverages.

The financial advisory company’s statement is interpreted by some as indicating that the ‘Japa’ wave, depicting the significant emigration of Nigerians, has severely impacted their operations.

This impact could potentially harm not just their reputation but also their sustained presence within the country.

On the company’s X page (formerly known as Twitter), SBG Securities issued a disclaimer warning existing and prospective investors about its “termination of coverage” of certain companies in the sub-Saharan African food and beverage industry.

In essence, it said that as a result of staff movement out of the company, which seems significant, it will no longer be able to provide forecasts for some companies.

These companies are Dangote Sugar Refinery, Nestle Nigeria, Flour Mills Nigeria Plc, and Nascon Allied Industries. Others are Unilever Nigeria, International Breweries, Guinness Nigeria, Nigerian Breweries, East African Breweries, and Tanzania Breweries.

SBG Securities, however, added that all “forecasts should now be considered redundant.”

In a recent BusinessDay publication titled, “’Japa’ wave empties construction sites,” it was reported that the Nigerian construction industry faces a labour shortage due to skilled workers leaving the country.

In the report, BusinessDay said that the departure of skilled workers, which had been influenced by the current economic challenges in the country, impacts project timelines and costs, demanding government support and access to resources for the industry’s sustainability.

This public confession from SBG Securities exposes not only the mass exodus of Nigerians out of the country but also the dangers that it portends for the financial industry if highly skilled professionals continue this mass exodus out of the country.

It also pushes the question of how the government can arrest brain drain in the country and, most importantly, try everything possible to improve the living conditions of Nigerians, which are at an all-time low.

There has been a substantial reaction on X regarding SBG Securities’ disclaimer, with some expressing concern over the mass emigration of Nigerians. Meanwhile, others have suggested that the company could use this situation as an opportunity to hire individuals with the necessary skill sets.

Rufybaba, an investment management and finance expert, expressed his surprise: “I didn’t understand how much of a problem the recent wave of brain drain was until I saw this some days ago. Like I knew it was existent, but after seeing this, I sighed.”

Shocked by this revelation, he added in a tweet, “I mean, if a whole Stanbic (a really premium employer in the Nigerian financial space and particularly the Nigerian capital market) is making this kind of decision, then I can imagine how terrible the situation is.”

However, Chenemi Abraham queried the financial company’s notice, tweeting, “Staff movement from where to where? Can’t they hire new staff? How many Nigerians are ever leaving the country? Do we have the stats?”

Others chimed in, underscoring the urgency for a solution to the perceived serious situation.

By Nsikak Nseyen

The Comptroller General, Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Mrs Caroline Adepoju, has said the service would open more passport service points to meet the needs of Nigerians in the Diaspora.

Adepoju said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja that efforts were on to ease passport processing in the country.

“I have it on good authority that in the UK, we have over four million Nigerians, and this number increases every day because of the “Japa syndrome”; families that relocated, students, and those in search of greener pastures and jobs.

“So all hands are on deck to ensure that we create more service points in the UK, Canada and the USA.

”We listen to the plight of our nationals, we hear their cries and we are working hard and by the grace of God, we will get there,” she said.

Adepoju said the service had opened three additional passport processing centres in Nigeria located at Ikorodu, Offa and Ile-Oluji to ease demands on passport centres in Lagos, Kwara and Ondo states.

“More are coming, we are going to Ibadan, Badagry, we will look at everywhere we have a high volume of applications.

“I want Nigerians to continue to support me, understand and be aware that they owe us the duty of ensuring that they apply for their passports when it is about six months before the expiry date, that will ease the pressure on them and the system.

”And Nigerians should stop patronising touts. Nigerians can apply for International Passport online and can make payments and book appointments online.

“Very soon, we are looking at making everything digital so that there would be minimal human interference,” the NIS CG said.

She also appealed to those in the diaspora whose passports were tied to their stay and status abroad always to be conscious of the need to renew their passports on time.

A rise in the cost of production could lead to an increase in the fee for obtaining biometric passports in Ghana, the country’s foreign ministry has hinted.

The idea comes as the government in Accra is also planning to introduce a new generation chip-based biometric passports within the first six months of 2024, Graphic writes, citing a CitiTV video.

In a recent outing, Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, deputy minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, expressed worries that Ghana has had to subsidize every passport produced in the country. Difficulties in having the necessary raw material like booklets as well as other printing material is part of the reasons pushing the government towards that decision, he added.

The official said discussions are already underway with Parliament on how the fee adjustment will have to be rolled out.

Making a comparison, Ampratwum-Sarpong said at the moment, Ghana has one of the lowest fees of obtaining passports within the West African region – at just $8, as opposed to about $40 in regional peers like Liberia and Togo.

The Minister was affirmative that the new chip-embedded passport is definitely going to cost more.

“We are thinking of upgrading our passport from biometric to chip-embedded. So, the chip-embedded version is going to cost more,” the deputy minister said.

“Until we are ready to pay the realistic passport fees, we will continue to have these problems that we have at our passport offices. No magic can be done by the officers to solve it,” he added.

He called on Ghanaians to brace up for those imminent changes in order to continue to enjoy the services they require, but the announcement is already sparking criticisms in the country’s social media space.

Nigeria almost done with passport digitization process

In neighboring Nigeria, authorities have told citizens that efforts being made to fully digitize passports are far advanced at 99 percent, as noted by Daily Post.

Speaking recently on Channels Television, a renowned Nigerian TV station, Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo said all the necessary pre-deployment tests have been done and that the system is most likely to fully go operational next week.

With the new system, everything step in the passport application process will be completed online, except biometrics capture, he explained.

The minister had said in an earlier outing that the digital application system for biometric passports will be available 100 percent from February next year.

The Nigerian Community in Rome, Italy, has urged the Minister of Interior, Mr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, to resolve the e-passport challenges encountered by Nigerians in the diaspora.

President of the community, Prince Chima Ibezim, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Federal Government on Nov. 8 unveiled additional enhanced e-Passport facilities at selected Nigerian Embassies in Europe.

The facilities were inaugurated at the Nigerian Embassy in Rome by the minister of interior, who emphasized the dedication of President Bola Tinubu’s government to citizens’ diplomacy and the enhancement of services to the diaspora community.

Ibezim, who is also the Financial Director of the APC Committee of Diaspora Chairmen (CDC), urged the minister to particularly come to the aid of Nigerians in Italy affected with the issue of e-Passport.

He said that the issue had posed a lot of challenges and difficulties to Nigerians in the country.

He said: “The National Identification Number (NIN) has posed difficulties to Nigerians.

“This is especially those with variations or rearrangement of their names in their old passports and other valid personal identification documents.

“Nigerians in the country are also lamenting on the increase in the passport price of minors who are not income earning and consequently causing more financial hardships for their parents and families.”

Ibezim pleaded that the old e-Passport should be allowed to run in tandem with the enhanced one for some years.

He said this would gradually reduce any difficulties and challenges in obtaining the new ones.

Ethiopian Airlines in Nigeria has banned the infamously nicknamed "Ghana Must Go" bags from their flights there.

The luggage got the nickname in Nigeria in the 1980s, when hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants, many of whom were Ghanaian, were expelled.

People fled with the red-and-blue checked bags on their backs.

Now, the airline says, the ubiquitous carriers, a favourite of traders, can badly affect airport equipment.

In a statement Ethiopia Airlines said the ban was introduced because of "the frequent occurrence of damages to the conveyor belts at various airports, resulting in significant costs incurred by the airlines involved".

There is an exception. The bags could be used if they were "adequately packed in a carton or hardcover rectangular container".

Ethiopia Airlines operates several domestic and regional routes out of Nigeria's commercial hub, Lagos.

The bags are very popular across Africa, and much of the rest of the world, and can be seen in many airports.

They also go by different names. In Kenya, for example, they are known as Nigeria bags, and Zimbabweans call them Botswana bags.

In 2017 KLM and Air France, imposed a ban because they said the bags could unravel and clog up baggage delivery systems.

The United States Embassy in Nigeria said it has interviewed over 150,000 Nigerians, including 30,000 students, who applied for visas to their country this year.

The head, Mr. David Greene, made this disclosure on Sunday during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.

He also assured visa applicants of the mission’s commitment to tackling all visa-related hitches.

According to him, issues related to visas would fully become a thing of the past, saying the mission is doing everything within its power to tackle such challenges.

“When it comes to visas specifically, well, of course, it is a simple fact: the demand for visa appointments outnumbers the supply.

“So, those appointments are available, and we are doing everything we can to address that gap. What folks do not know is that this year, we have interviewed more than 150,000 Nigerians.

“This is in addition to 30,000 students. Hundreds of thousands of students have had the opportunity to seek visas from the US.

“We are doing the best we can to get proper ways for all the categories and after having an enormous backlog as a result of COVID-19 and all that.

“We have made great progress though. In March, we instituted a five-year term for visas to the US,” he added.

He urged persons desiring to travel to the US to apply early and ensure that the visa requests are tied to events.

“Folks that are seeking visas should apply early, make sure that the plan is for an event as they can.

“This is because we do acknowledge that there is a backlog, and we will do what we can to make sure people that need a warrant visa to the US can get them,” he said.

NAN

The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, expressed satisfaction with the project.

By Vivian Chimezie

Construction giant and contractor of the Second Niger Bridge, Julius Berger, has formally handed over the multi-billion naira project to the Federal Government.

In a brief ceremony at toll area of the bridge, the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, expressed satisfaction with the project, confirming that the contractor had carried out repairs on the vandalized portions

He also noted that the bridge is open to concession to any private company who would be ready to complete all the ancillary roads, collect tolls and recoup investments.

Umahi hinted that modalities to ease traffic at the old and new bridges during the festive period are being worked out.

The 1.6 kilometers long bridge links Anambra and Delta states.

The Second Niger Bridge was first proposed during the 1978/79 political campaign by then-candidate Shehu Shagari of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN).

BY Kelvin Osa OkunborDecember 4, 2023

The Comptroller of Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Caroline Wuraola Adepoju, has called for the private sector’s support in the provision and upgrade of operational infrastructure to enhance efficiency in the processing and production of international passports and other travel documents.

The CGI said that such support could come in the form of provision of work tools/equipment and structures in the Passport Office, which would go a long way in addressing inadequate facilities confronting the border control and management agency.

She said intervention in facility provision by corporate organisations would go a long way in fixing the problem of processing passports at a time the travel document has come under increasing demand, on account of Nigerians either relocating overseas for education or greener pastures.

Adepoju added that such unprecedented demand for international passports would put the system under intense pressure, encumbered by epileptic supply and internet band-end glitches.

Speaking at the Nigeria Immigration Service Ikoyi Passport Office, Lagos, when Heirs Group and Total Energies donated a 30 KVA Solar Power Project and Information Communication Technology Project, Adepoju said such intervention besides bridging the gap in operational requirements at the office, will enhance the efficiency of service delivery.

While commending the private sector players for their corporate social responsibility initiative, she said the NIS will continue to seek such collaboration to enable it to serve Nigerians better in the discharge of its mandate in providing travel documents.

She said the gesture of Heirs Group is highly appreciated because it will save the NIS sufficient resources in attending to hitches in power supply, which hampers timely production of passports with the attendant backend internet glitches.

She said what the two organisations have demonstrated as socially responsible entities are to provide assistance in critical areas that would go a long way in changing the efficiency narrative of the NIS.

She urged them not to rest in their oars in constantly helping organisations that cater to the needs of Nigerians.

Adepoju assured the donors that the facilities will be adequately deployed and maintained saying the comfort of its customers/ applicants and the ambiance of its work environment remains a core value in its mandate of service offerings.

The NIS CGI said: “We will continue to call on Nigerians and corporate organisations to support the Nigeria Immigration Service with operational tools and facilities that would enable its personnel to put in their best. This has been achieved through the goodwill of our officers, which we will continue to harness to get the best out of our organisation. The solar power project at our Ikoyi Passport Office will enhance our seamless service for quality delivery and encourage our personnel to work in a conducive environment. This noble project will be well utilized.”

Also speaking, Non-Executive Director, Heirs Group, Awele Elumelu, said intervention on NIS facilities could not have come at a better time, than now, when the global community is pursuing sustainability through greener energy to improve lives, fast track operational processes to ensure 24 hours power supply at Passport Offices.

Elumelu said: “This intervention for NIS will improve the time for issuance of passports. As a company, we will continue to seek ways to improve customer service. Such sustainability will light the path to the development of a green and prosperous Nigeria.”

By Michael Cohen and S'thembile Cele

Once lauded for opening borders to African refugees, South Africa is trying to clamp down on migrants ahead of next year’s elections.

That may not be the end of the case. Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi is appealing the ruling, warning foreign nationals are placing an excessive burden on taxpayers.

He also plans to revamp the laws governing citizenship, immigration and refugees, limiting the rights of asylum seekers and to reduce benefits granted to migrants. The overhaul will address a “mistake” the government made by adopting United Nations immigration protocols after apartheid ended in 1994 without taking the country’s own needs into account, the minister says.

The African National Congress welcomed neighbors after it came to power, grateful for the support the continent offered to end White-minority rule. Yet perceived competition for scarce services and jobs has blown up into bouts of bloody xenophobia over the past 15 years, making migrants a hot political topic.

With polls showing the ANC risks losing its outright majority and several opposition parties capitalizing on anti-foreigner sentiment, the challenges most migrants face look set to become more daunting.

News Roundup

Opposition leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo are in talks about choosing a single candidate to face President Felix Tshisekedi in national elections in two weeks time. Martin Fayulu, who was officially runner-up to Tshisekedi in the disputed 2018 vote, revealed in an interview that talks are ongoing among several candidates, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege. There have been no large-scale independent polls, making it difficult to gauge public opinion.

Zimbabwe is using the proceeds from platinum exports to settle a $400 million loan from the African Export-Import Bank as the indebted southern African nation turns to its mineral wealth to secure lines of credit. Zimbabwe’s reliance on its resources underscores the difficulty it faces in getting money from international financiers. It’s saddled with $18 billion of debt and remains ineligible for funding from multilateral lenders including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the African Development Bank.

The UK has struck the “strongest possible agreement” on immigration with Rwanda, Rishi Sunak’s spokesman said as the prime minister seeks to force his controversial plan to fly asylum seekers to the East African nation past British courts. Home Secretary James Cleverly landed in Kigali on Tuesday to sign a treaty with President Paul Kagame’s administration. The UK’s Sunday Times reported that the government will pay Rwanda at least another £15 million to secure the immigration deal, on top of £140 million already given.

bring electricity from off-grid solar projects to 72 million people in some of Africa’s poorest countries. The Hardest-to-Reach Initiative will cover 16 countries ranging from Congo to Somalia across a continent where about half of the population have no access to electricity. Its backed by the South Korean-based Green Climate Fund.

>span class="ArticleImage_imageOverlay-7Sc0rHbcwnc-" tabindex="0">South Africa’s dysfunctional logistics system is emerging as the biggest threat to a country that was already grappling with crippling power cuts because of a failing electricity utility. Read this QuickTake explainer on why Transnet has become a drag on the continent’s most industrialized economy and forced mining companies to find other ways to export commodities. The impact is becoming clearer, with gross domestic product shrinking more than expected in the third quarter.

Two of the year’s hottest Nigerian stocks are companies that reinvented themselves as financial technology providers, targeting demand among the vast ranks of consumers without bank accounts. Chams has soared more than 800% to be the top performer on Nigeria’s market after securing fintech licenses in 2022, while Computer Warehouse Group has rallied almost sevenfold. The surge underscores opportunities for the sector in a country with one of the lowest bank branch densities.

Thank you for your responses to our weekly Next Africa Quiz and congratulations to Sammy Kibet who was the first to name Seychelles as the nation to complain that it’s missing out on concessional funding needed to deal with the fallout from climate change because it is considered too wealthy.

Africa’s biggest banks booked windfall profits as regional currencies tumbled this year, but some gains are being eaten up by higher debt provisions and their 2024 outlook appears mixed. While sharp slides in units like the naira and Kenyan shilling reflect wider economic weakness, the largest lenders look well capitalized and should be an important source of strength for the region grappling with high interest rates and a cost-of-living crisis.