Economy

Expect 45% Hike in Air Fares—FAAN

Published

6 years ago

28/05/2020

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has said airline operators may increase fares by 45 percent once the aviation sector kick-starts operations.

The sector has been under ‘lockdown’ following the closure of the airspace by the federal government for over a month. The airports are expected to be reopened on June 7 if the coast is clear.

The General Manager, Corporate Affairs of FAAN, Mrs Henrietta Yakubu, speaking at an aviation webinar organized by Women in Aviation (WIA) Nigeria with the theme Aviation: The New Norm in the post COVID-19, said that air passengers should also expect delays and long hours of checks and re-checks right from when they arrive at airport .

“Passengers should expect that airlines will charge more in terms of airfare, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said that there would be 45 percent increase in fares,” Mrs Yakubu said.

She, however, assured that arrangements were in the works towards the reopening of the nation’s airports soon.

Mrs Yakubu also said escorts of VIPs would no longer be allowed to follow their principals into the terminal and that such principals would be subjected to all health checks.

“Passengers are expected to leave their home early hours before their flights to go through the various checks before entering the terminal and after.

“We are going to expect flight delays, flights will experience delays from checks and re-checks. If you are travelling, I will expect a potential traveler to leave home hours before his flight.

“Why do I say this? – Because there is going to be a lot of checks in the front of the terminal we have been told that some may activities and procedures will take place in front of the terminal.

“So air travelers are expected to leave home very early so that they can get to the airport on time,” she said.

According to Mrs Yakubu, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought a lot of changes to air travel and to ensure the safety of passengers and airport users, the way of doing things before has to change.

The pandemic will make people cut down on non-essentials and lead to low demand of air travel, she said.

Mrs Yakubu restated that social distancing would be observed at all the airports as well as temperature screening, wearing of face masks, disinfection of shoes and luggage of passengers regardless of personalities.

She said: “There will be floor markings indicating where each passenger will wait on the queue, arriving passengers will also be subjected to temperature screening, physical distancing too will be observed while passengers are waiting by the carousel to pick up their luggage.

“Passengers are expected to arrive the airport with their face masks on, their luggage and pairs of shoes to be disinfected.

“Passengers are expected to observe to observe social/physical distancing.

“Passengers will subject themselves to temperature screening and departure halls will be arranged in such a way that physical distancing too will be observed.”

The General Manager Customer Service/SERVICOM of FAAN, Mrs Ebele Okoye, said there will be a cut down on louts and loiters at the terminal building and outside, saying with COVID-19 fears, there would be no room for them.

In reducing contact, the days of opening people’s bag at the airport to search what is inside should be done away with. “I will urge all the airports to consider and make provision for different kinds of passengers, social distancing, adequate information and security and more importantly, social security.”

Mrs Okoye then advised passengers to buy their tickets online, check in online and pay for their trolleys online to reduce the hours they would have to spend carrying out these activities and also save themselves the trouble of coming to the airport to buy tickets.

The webinar was moderated by the WIA President, Mrs Rejoice Ndudinachi, and featured the Airport Manager South West Airports/Airport Manager, Murtala Mohammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos, Mrs Victoria Shin-Aba, former Rector, Nigeria College of Aviation Technology, NCAT, Zaria and other women professionals in the industry.

Economy

Tinubu Okays Extension of Ban on Raw Shea Nut Export by One Year

Published

4 hours ago

26/02/2026

Aduragbemi Omiyale

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The ban on the export of raw shea nuts from Nigeria has been extended by one year by President Bola Tinubu.

A statement from the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, on Wednesday disclosed that the ban is now till February 25, 2027.

It was emphasised that this decision underscores the administration’s commitment to advancing industrial development, strengthening domestic value addition, and supporting the objectives of the Renewed Hope Agenda.

The ban aims to deepen processing capacity within Nigeria, enhance livelihoods in shea-producing communities, and promote the growth of Nigerian exports anchored on value-added products, the statement noted.

To further these objectives, President Tinubu has authorised the two Ministers of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, and the Presidential Food Security Coordination Unit (PFSCU), to coordinate the implementation of a unified, evidence-based national framework that aligns industrialisation, trade, and investment priorities across the shea nut value chain.

He also approved the adoption of an export framework established by the Nigerian Commodity Exchange (NCX) and the withdrawal of all waivers allowing the direct export of raw shea nuts.

The President directed that any excess supply of raw shea nuts should be exported exclusively through the NCX framework, in accordance with the approved guidelines.

Additionally, he directed the Federal Ministry of Finance to provide access to a dedicated NESS Support Window to enable the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment to pilot a Livelihood Finance Mechanism to strengthen production and processing capacity.

Shea nuts, the oil-rich fruits from the shea tree common in the Savanna belt of Nigeria, are the raw material for shea butter, renowned for its moisturising, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. The extracted butter is a principal ingredient in cosmetics for skin and hair, as well as in edible cooking oil. The Federal Government encourages processing shea nuts into butter locally, as butter fetches between 10 and 20 times the price of the raw nuts.

The federal government said it remains committed to policies that promote inclusive growth, local manufacturing and position Nigeria as a competitive participant in global agricultural value chains.

Economy

NASD Bourse Rebounds as Unlisted Security Index Rises 1.27%

Published

4 hours ago

26/02/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange expanded for the first session this week by 1.27 per cent on Wednesday, February 25.

This lifted the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) above 4,000 points, with a 50.45-point addition to close at 4,025.25 points compared with the previous day’s 3,974.80 points, as the market capitalisation added N30.19 billion to close at N2.408 trillion versus Tuesday’s N2.378 trillion.

At the trading session, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc grew by N5.00 to trade at N100.00 per share compared with the previous day’s N95.00 per share, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc improved by N4.18 to sell at N70.00 per unit versus N65.82 per unit, and First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc increased by 14 Kobo to trade at N1.59 per share compared with the previous day’s N1.45 per share.

However, the share price of Geo-Fluids Plc depreciated by 27 Kobo at midweek to close at N3.27 per unit, in contrast to the N3.30 per unit it was transacted a day earlier.

At the midweek session, the volume of securities went down by 25.3 per cent to 8.7 million units from 11.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 92.5 per cent to N80.7 million from N1.2 billion, and the number of deals slipped by 33.3 per cent to 32 deals from the preceding session’s 48 deals.

At the close of business, CSCS Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 34.1 million units exchanged for N2.0 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 6.3 million units traded for N1.1 billion, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 122.0 million units valued at N478.0 million.

Resourcery Plc ended the trading session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 1.05 billion units valued at N408.7 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 122.0 million units sold for N478.0 million, and CSCS Plc with 34.1 million units worth N2.0 billion.

Economy

Investors Lose N73bn as Bears Tighten Grip on Stock Exchange

Published

5 hours ago

26/02/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The bears consolidated their dominance on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Wednesday, inflicting an additional 0.09 per cent cut on the market.

At midweek, the market capitalisation of the domestic stock exchange went down by N73 billion to N124.754 trillion from the preceding day’s N124.827 trillion, and the All-Share Index (ASI) slipped by 114.32 points to 194,370.20 points from 194,484.52 points.

A look at the sectoral performance showed that only the consumer goods index closed in green, gaining 1.19 per cent due to buying pressure.

However, sustained profit-taking weakened the insurance space by 3.79 per cent, the banking index slumped by 2.07 per cent, the energy counter went down by 0.24 per cent, and the industrial goods sector shrank by 0.22 per cent.

Business Post reports that 25 equities ended on the gainers’ chart, and 54 equities finished on the losers’ table, representing a negative market breadth index and weak investor sentiment.

RT Briscoe lost 10.00 per cent to sell for N10.35, ABC Transport crashed by 10.00 per cent to N6.75, SAHCO depreciated by 9.98 per cent to N139.35, Haldane McCall gave up 9.93 per cent to trade at N3.99, and Vitafoam Nigeria decreased by 9.93 per cent to N112.50.

Conversely, Jaiz Bank gained 9.95 per cent to settle at N14.03, Okomu Oil appreciated by 9.93 per cent to N1,765.00, Trans-nationwide Express chalked up 9.77 per cent to close at N2.36, Fortis Global Insurance moved up by 9.72 per cent to 79 Kobo, and Champion Breweries rose by 5.39 per cent to N17.60.

Yesterday, 1.4 billion shares worth N46.2 billion were transacted in 70,222 deals compared with the 1.1 billion shares valued at N53.4 billion traded in 72,218 deals a day earlier, implying a rise in the trading volume by 27.27 per cent, and a decline in the trading value and number of deals by 13.48 per cent and 2.76 per cent, respectively.

Fortis Global Insurance ended the session as the busiest stock after trading 193.7 million units for N152.7 million, Zenith Bank transacted 120.7 million units worth N11.1 billion, Japaul exchanged 114.8 million units valued at N407.0 million, Ellah Lakes sold 98.4 million units worth N999.2 million, and Access Holdings traded 63.1 million units valued at N1.7 billion.