OCTOBER 03, 2024

Alistair Smout, William James, Muvija M and Michael Holden

LONDON, Oct 3 (Reuters) – Britain said on Thursday it would give up sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in a deal that would allow people displaced decades ago to return home while London retains use of the UK-U.S. military base on Diego Garcia.

Britain said that the operation of Diego Garcia, a strategic military base jointly operated with the United States, was protected by the agreement, which also allows Mauritius to resettle the rest of the islands after its population was displaced.

“This government inherited a situation where the long-term, secure operation of the Diego Garcia military base was under threat, with contested sovereignty and ongoing legal challenges,” British Foreign Minister David Lammy said in a statement.

“Today’s agreement secures this vital military base for the future. It will strengthen our role in safeguarding global security, shut down any possibility of the Indian Ocean being used as a dangerous illegal migration route to the UK, as well as guaranteeing our long-term relationship with Mauritius.”

Britain, which has controlled the region since 1814, detached the Chagos Islands in 1965 from Mauritius – a former colony that became independent three years later – to create the British Indian Ocean Territory.

In the early 1970s, it evicted almost 2,000 residents to Mauritius and the Seychelles to make way for an airbase on the largest island, Diego Garcia, which it had leased to the United States in 1966.

The World Court said in 2019 that Britain should give up control of the islands and said it had wrongfully forced the population to leave in the 1970s to make way for a U.S. air base.

In a joint statement, Britain and Mauritius said that the political agreement had the support and assistance of the United States and India.

(Reporting by Alistair Smout, William James, Muvija M and Michael Holden; Editing by Kate Holton)

OCTOBER 04, 2024

By Abdullateef Aliyu, Lagos

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, SAN, yesterday said with the revised bilateral air service agreement (BASA) with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Nigerian airlines can fly to any airport in the UAE.

Keyamo who spoke at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) on arrival with Emirates Airlines which just resumed flight operations to Nigeria after two years, stated that the reopening of flights to Nigeria is in the best interest of the Nigerian people.

Daily Trust reports that Emirates returned to Nigeria on October 1st, 2024 after suspending flights for over two years.

The Emirates Airline’s return followed the resolution of the issue of trapped funds with the Nigerian government.

While the airline formally returned on Tuesday, the Minister of Aviation and some chief executives of the aviation agencies arrived yesterday aboard an Emirates’ Airline’s flight after which a brief ceremony was held with officials of the airline.

It would be recalled that Keyamo had finalised agreement with the UAE authorities to guarantee reciprocal rights for Nigerian airlines willing to start flying to any of the UAE cities, especially Dubai.

Speaking with newsmen, Keyamo said, “The first thing we did when we went to negotiate a new BASA with the UAE was to also secure the route for our local operators. Our agreement with them is that they fly to any destination, we fly to any destination in the UAE.”

He said the return of Emirates would boost competition on the route as passengers now have a variety of choices to make.

“This is what this is all about, to ensure healthy competition and a healthy competition leads to competitive prices for the benefit of the Nigerian people,” he added.

He recalled that some airlines increased their prices when Emirates suspended operation, adding that the Nigerian government fought for the return of Emirates because of the strategic position of Dubai as a global travel hub.

“For Nigerian travellers, it is easy to access any part of the world by simply travelling to Dubai and connecting any flight and for our airlines too, we have also secured some kind of code-sharing agreement. We have told them (Emirates) that if they want to code-share, our airlines would have the right of first refusal,” he said.

Keyamo disclosed that Emirates is also in talks with some domestic carriers to explore the possibility of code-share. 

OCTOBER 07, 2024

Dipo Oladehinde & Cynthia Egboboh, Abuja. 

After 64 years of independence and over six decades of oil exploration, crude oil accounts for less than 10 percent of Nigeria’s GDP but represents about 90 percent of foreign exchange earnings and more than half of government revenue.

Endowed with some of the world’s biggest proven oil reserves of 37 billion barrels, Nigeria had the potential to break into the global stage to take an active position in decisions on international energy demand and supply issues alongside most of the world’s biggest oil producers.

Nigeria and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) had collectively agreed on how much oil to produce, with a view to exerting considerable influence on the global market price of oil and, understandably, keep it relatively high in order to maximise profitability.

In 1973, the cartel was able to influence an oil boom which saw prices quadruple from $3 per barrel to $12 per barrel.

Also, between 2006 and 2009, the price of oil went from $74.59 to $109.25. Again, from 2010 to 2013, the price of oil rose from $84.24 to $100.95.

Life after oil

During these boom periods, most oil-producing countries ran successful economies and also learned not to put all their eggs in one basket by intensifying plans for life beyond crude oil, a point Africa’s biggest oil-producing country missed.

For instance, Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, took full advantage of the sustained rising oil prices to build new cities. The projects were designed to burnish the country’s image, develop a non-oil economy and generate enough employment to maintain social stability.

For the UAE, building an economy less dependent on the ups and downs of the price of oil, but with a skilled workforce in many different industries, is beyond lip service. The country has a development plan for the next 50 years after 2021 called “2020: Towards the next 50.”

The plan aims to strengthen the country’s investment in future generations with a focus on advanced technology, relying less on oil by diversifying exports and imports, enhancing cohesion in societies, improving the productivity of the national economy and building on Emirati values for the benefit of future generations.

In Norway, the government viewed oil revenue not as a source for immediate squandering but as a “transformation of wealth, from a natural resource to financial wealth,” with consideration for the future by upholding an ethical obligation to share oil wealth with future generations.

Nigeria is different

For Nigeria, the narration is different. Policy missteps, wasteful spending and an inability to diversify away from petrol dollars or build a life after oil plan have restricted the country’s economy from attaining its full potential and have rendered it fully susceptible to the renowned “resource curse.”

“No doubt, IOC divestments have created opportunities for local operators and service providers. However, weak governance eventually stifles everything. The government has a huge responsibility to catalyse things, drive efficiency, and sustain it so that the Nigerian oil and gas industry can thrive,” said Dimeji Bassir, CEO, Ofserv told Africa Energy Magazine.

Despite producing oil in commercial quantities for more than five decades, Nigeria’s oil production has not exceeded, in recent tyimes, the 2.3 million barrels a day achieved in 1979. Its oil output was insufficient to spark a Middle Eastern-style economic miracle back then.

“Since the early days of exploration in the Niger Delta region, Nigeria has faced challenges of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism, leading to disruptions in production,” analysts at Asset & Resource Management Company Limited (ARM) Group said in their 2024 report.

Read also: Nigeria’s oil sector turns ghost town as FDI vanishes

They added, “These issues have significantly impacted Nigeria’s ability to produce crude oil to its maximum potential, resulting in consecutive contractions in the sector’s growth rate.”

Recent modest gains such as the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), rising indigenous operators and the advent of modular refineries have been stunted by an inefficient national oil company, loss-making refineries, and declining foreign direct investment (FDI).

“Nigeria’s refining capacity, although substantial, has been hindered by outdated infrastructure and mismanagement,” Analysts at ARM said.

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They added, “Recent efforts to establish modular refineries have increased refining capacity, but it still falls short of meeting domestic demand.”

Rot in NNPC

Analysts said deep scrutiny of Nigeria’s national oil company is the starting point in enabling the country’s oil and gas resources to deliver maximum value for its people.

“Nigeria is a volatile country, and our oil and gas industry does not have a good reputation internationally, making it difficult to raise capital to develop greenfield projects. Refining is the newest of the different upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors in the country, and while dealing with being a pioneer, refineries in Nigeria have had great difficulties in securing feedstock,” said Michael Osime, chairman of AIPCC Energy.

The NNPC, as the country’s oil firm, is at the centre of the chaos. Entrusted with 445,000 barrels of the country’s share of oil output from various contracts with local and international oil partners, the company has over the years turned to swapping crude for refined products because it could not maintain its refineries.

When the company began the opaque oil swaps in 2010, its refineries were working at only around 20 percent of capacity. The next year, banks unwilling to finance more open account imports that were at a deficit of over $3 billion forced the government to start granting waivers to marketers, ushering in the era of fraudulent petrol subsidies.

“By looking at successful oil companies like Shell and Exxon Mobil, Nigeria can glean valuable lessons in operational excellence. These companies prioritise efficiency, innovation, and sustainability, setting standards that NNPC and other local players should aspire to meet,” a senior oil executive told BusinessDay.

He added, “For instance, embracing technology in exploration and production can lead to lower costs and reduced environmental impact, making Nigeria’s oil sector more sustainable in the long term,”

Also requiring cleanup is NNPC operating models. It uses Joint Venture Agreements with local and international oil companies to produce in onshore and shallow-water oil wells. It owns 60 percent of benefits in these agreements but often fails to contribute its share of costs, leading to what is known as cash call arrears in the industry. However, it recently paid $2.44bn cash call obligations to multinational oil companies which are its joint-venture partners.

Most of these fields are troubled by sabotage and local community issues, forcing its multinational partners to opt out. Under the Nigerian law, they are required to decommission these fields – essentially leaving them the way they met them environmentally – but the costs are enormous. So they found a creative solution by selling their stake to local oil companies.

But NNPC has kicked against this arrangement. Shell, ExxonMobil and recently, ENI, have struggled to exit stakes in onshore assets.

“If we examine the production figures, with about 1.3 million bpd, excluding 600,000 bpd from deepwater, we are left with only 700,000 bpd from onshore operations. This is a significant decline from the previous level of 2 million bpd,” Austin Avuru, executive chairman, A.A Holdings told Africa Energy 2024 report.

He added, “As these IOC transactions settle and independents take charge, I anticipate a surge in new investments by these independent companies. It is conceivable that onshore and shallow water production could reach 4.5 million bpd, possibly in the near term.”

Apart from upstream, analysts at ARM said Nigeria’s downstream sector faces challenges, including mispriced products, security concerns, and dilapidated infrastructure, despite being the 13th largest crude oil producer in the world.

“The sector grapples with various challenges, including inadequate supply chain, security concerns around pipelines, inconsistent supply due to vandalism, outdated pipeline infrastructure, malfunctioning refineries, and logistics challenges,” Analysts at ARM said.

The nation now has Dangote Petroleum Refinery and it is being looked upon to change the Nigerian petrol refining outlook.

OCTOBER 07, 2024

 

By Abdullateef Aliyu

From December and continuing through February, Delta Air Lines will start daily nonstop flights on its New York JFK – Lagos route —an increase in the number of flights of 133%.

During this period, Delta will transition from the Airbus A330-200, which accommodates 223 passengers, to the more spacious Airbus A330-900neo, capable of carrying 281 passengers.

This strategic enhancement not only signifies an increase in capacity but also aims to provide an elevated travel experience for customers.

This decision underscores the Delta’s dedication to aligning its services with customer preferences and the evolving dynamics of air travel, the airline said in a statement yesterday.

Delta’s head of Sales for West Africa, Mary Gbobaniyi, said: “Adding more flights to the Nigerian market could not have been better timed. Increased capacity and a larger aircraft mean more options and an elevated experience for our customers.”

The airline stated that the decision to expand services to Lagos “is a direct response to positive customer feedback regarding Delta’s offerings and the overall demand in the market.”

To ensure a smooth travel experience, Delta advised all passengers traveling on flights from Lagos to arrive at the airport for check-in no later than 3 hours before departure to overcome airport security screening challenges.

Premium travellers on the New York-Lagos route will have the opportunity to enjoy the Delta One Lounge at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

OCTOBER 07, 2024

By Olasunkanmi Akinlotan

The United States’ oldest operating airline and the seventh-oldest operating globally, Delta Air Lines, has finalised plans to reintroduce daily flights from Lagos State to New York in December 2024.

With this development, the airline will transition from the Airbus A330-200, which accommodates 223 passengers, to the more spacious Airbus A330-900neo, capable of carrying 281 passengers.

This was contained in a statement made available to PUNCH Online on Monday, stating that the enhancement not only signifies an increase in capacity but also aims to provide an elevated travel experience for the flying public.

“This decision underscores Delta’s dedication to aligning its services with customer preferences and the evolving dynamics of air travel,” the statement stated.

The airline’s Head of Sales for West Africa, Mary Gbobaniyi, expressed excitement saying this development, “which will add more flights to the Nigerian market, could not have been better timed. Increased capacity and a larger aircraft mean more options and an elevated experience for our customers.

“As the leading global airline, Delta’s mission to connect the world creates opportunities, fosters understanding and expands horizons by connecting people and communities to each other and to their own potential.

“An essential element of Delta’s operational philosophy is our continuous monitoring of customer preferences and travel patterns. By closely examining where customers wish to fly, Delta effectively matches capacity to meet demand.”

The aviation company noted that its decision for a direct flight was borne out of customers’ feed.

“The decision to expand services to Lagos is a direct response to positive customer feedback regarding Delta’s offerings and the overall demand in the market,” the statement read.

To ensure a smooth travel experience, Delta advises “passengers traveling on flights from Lagos to arrive at the airport for check-in no later than three hours before departure to overcome airport security screening challenges.”

The airline also advised passengers to check-in 90 minutes before departure, saying, “Arriving at the weighing scales at the close of counters will not guarantee check-in and will be considered late.”

These guidelines, Delta says, will help provide its passengers with the best service and a stress-free travel process.

The statement further reads, “Premium travellers on the New York-Lagos route will have the opportunity to enjoy the Delta One Lounge at John F. Kennedy International Airport. This exclusive lounge offers a range of high-end amenities, including gourmet dining options, luxurious seating areas, and personalised services.

“Designed to enhance the travel experience, the Delta One Lounge provides a serene environment for passengers to relax before their flights, making it a perfect complement to the premium travel experience on this route.”

OCTOBER 08, 2024

By Faruk Shuaibu

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has stated that the federal government will not subsidise hajj payment for pilgrims in 2025.

Daily Trust reports that government subsidy is mostly in the form of concessionary rate which allows pilgrims to access dollars at a reduced rate from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

A statement by the spokesperson of the commission, Fatima Sanda Usara, said for the 2025 Hajj, “There will be no concessionary exchange rate from the government for Hajj fare payment for pilgrims whether under state or private Hajj operators.”

This means that if the naira maintains its current rate of N1,650 to a dollar, each intending pilgrim will pay almost N10million for hajj fare as pilgrims pay at least $6,000.

While NAHCON is yet to announce the hajj fare for the 2025 hajj, States Pilgrims Welfare Board have begun asking intending pilgrims to pay N8.5m as initial deposit pending the announcement of the hajj fare.

The statement also announced the refund of 64,682 (150 Saudi Riyal) to every Nigerian pilgrim that participated in the 2023 hajj.

The statement added that the revelations were made during an interactive meeting between NAHCON and members of Private Tour Operators in Nigeria (PTOs).

“The meeting held today, 7th October 2024 was to update members on resolutions reached after resumption of office on Wednesday, 2nd October 2024 by Acting Chairman of the Commission, Prof Abdullahi Sale Pakistan who had been absent briefly on a trip.

“NAHCON’s Commissioner of Operations, Prince Anofi Olanrewaju Elegushi, chaired the virtual meeting with the PTO’s where he relayed new developments from both Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah (MoHU) and NAHCON’s decisions resulting from the second EXCO meeting with the new head of the Commission.”

Elegushi also stated that Saudi Arabia had further reduced the number of PTO to 10 from 20 that was initially announced and each company must register a minimum of 2,000 pilgrims to be considered for Hajj visa approval.

He said for the 2022 refund, the commission is still awaiting further details but refund details have emerged only for PTOs that camped on Field Office 18 in 2022 and they are to collectively receive SR62, 602 (N26,993,224) as refund for poor feeding in the Masha’ir.

“Similarly, the Commissioner Operations informed the PTO members that the NAHCON’s EXCO has approved the option of honouring bank guarantee as payment of N40 million caution deposit for the 2025 Hajj. In view of the above, any operator who wishes to make the payment through bank guarantee but has already made a cash deposit is invited to request for collection of the earlier deposit in order to present the bank guarantee.”

He also clarified that contrary to claims that NAHCON owes PTOs N17 billion from the 2024 Hajj caution deposit of N25million, it only received N2billion, N750million from 110 companies that registered for the 2024 Hajj.

“The amount included a roll-over of N1billion, 250million from the previous year. From the amount, 30 companies requested for refunds amounting to N750m, which has been paid. The balance still in the custody of the commission accruing to undecided PTOs is N750m.”

OCTOBER 09, 2024

By Olasunkanmi Akinlotan

To satisfy tourists’ urges and attract more passengers, Delta Air Lines has listed four “must-visit locations” for Nigerians seeking fun around the world.

The four locations situated in Miami, a coastal city in the US, were listed in a statement made available to The PUNCH recently.

According to the airline, Nigerians are drawn to Miami’s vibrant, stunning coastline, rich cultural experiences and nightlife, adding, “Delta Air Lines offers daily flights from Atlanta to Miami, offering an unforgettable journey to this vibrant city.”

While speaking about the soft allure and the beautiful views of Miami and its standout tourist attraction sites, Delta added that it offered an average of 10 daily flights from Atlanta, Delta’s destination point from Lagos to explore Miami’s vibrant offerings.

“Few destinations are quite like Miami, Florida: vibrant cultures that flourish under the warm embrace of the sun, the soft allure of sandy beaches and a constellation of lively festivities. For Nigerians eager to revel in elevated experiences, eclectic nightlife and a diverse cultural community, this coastal city is a home away from home,” it noted.

The airline listed the tourism locations to be; South Beach, Little Havana, Wynwood Walls and Bayfront Park, all in Miami.

 It added, “South Beach: The Pulse of the City No other location captures Miami’s spirit like South Beach. This well-known sand stretch is a cultural epicentre brimming with architectural art-deco style and lively enthusiasm. South Beach transforms into a nightlife aficionado’s playground once the sun sets. Beachfront bars and glitzy nightclubs, such as “LIV”, resemble Lagos nightlife with their abundance of dining options and energetic dance floors.

 “Little Havana and more: Explore Multicultural CommunitiesLittle Havana captures the Cuban American experience like few other communities can, offering authentic cuisine, festivities and cultural experiences. Among the must-visit destinations in this enchanting enclave are the Calle Ocho Walk of Fame, which honours influential Cuban artists, and Café La Trova, a celebrated restaurant renowned for its exquisite culinary offerings like seared foie gras and rabo encendido pasta.

“Wynwood Walls: The Greatest Experience with Art Art enthusiasts, rejoice! This outdoor street art project turns the formerly industrial neighbourhood into a creative canvas with life-size murals by internationally recognised artists. Wynwood is an ideal spot for Nigerians to explore art galleries and secure their own art piece from street sellers offering distinctive, handcrafted products. Food trucks and pop-up events are a frequent highlight of vibrant art strolls, fostering an environment of friendship reminiscent of hometown events in Lagos.

“Bayfront Park: Urban Vibes Meet Nature Bayfront Park is a perfect intersection between the city bustle and hearing palm trees rustle. This expansive park provides a lovely fusion of recreational opportunities and peaceful waterfront vistas. Bayfront has something to offer everyone, whether it’s taking a leisurely stroll down the promenade or practising al fresco yoga. The celebration lasts all day and night, thanks to its proximity to downtown Miami, making waterfront restaurants and entertainment easily accessible.”