Airtel to Deploy Broadband Services, Fibre Network Across Kaduna

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has suspended the operations of Max Air in Nigeria for a series of irregularities. In a letter NCAA/DG/AIR/11/16/363, signed by Director, Operations Training & Licensing, Mr Ibrahim Bello Dambazau, for the Director General of Civil Aviation, Mr Musa Nuhu, the authority directed the suspension of Parts A3 and D43 with regards to the operation of Max Air’s Boeing 737 aircraft type with immediate effect. Parts A3 deals with the airline’s Aircraft Authorization, and D43 deals with Aircraft Listing of the Operations Specifications issued to Max Air Limited. This simply translates that

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Nigeria Air project of the immediate past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has been suspended by the current government of Mr Bola Tinubu. The suspension of the national carrier project was carried out by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, who served in the previous administration as the Minister of State for Labour and Productivity. Speaking during a tour of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos, Mr Keyamo also announced the suspension of the concession of the airports. He said both the suspension of the Nigeria Air project and the

By Aduragbemi Omiyale A small aircraft crashed near the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos. The yet-to-be-identified helicopter, which is said to belong to a private owner, reportedly crashed in the Oba Akran area of Lagos State on Tuesday afternoon. According to reports reaching this newspaper, the pilots survived the air disaster. Two pilots were said to be flying the chopper when it burst into flames after it fell into a private property in the area. At the time of filing this report, we are yet to confirm what was responsible for the ill-fated helicopter crash. However, some

By Adedapo Adesanya  The Federal Ministry of Aviation says it will collaborate with the United States on direct flights to Texas in a bid to expand the horizon of the aviation industry and deepen the bilateral relations with the world’s largest economy. The Permanent Secretary, Mr Emmanuel Meribole, said this during a visit to the Ministry by a delegation from the United States led by the Mayor of Houston, Texas, Mr Sylvester Turner, on Tuesday in Abuja. The ministry promised the US delegation that the Federal Government of Nigeria would work on its requests for direct flights from Nigeria to

By Dipo Olowookere Footage of a robbery attack which reportedly took place at a branch of Zenith Bank in Owerri, Imo State, has resurfaced on the internet. Recall that in February this year, some hoodlums stormed a branch of the bank on Wetheral Road in the state capital to rob a customer, who had gone there to deposit an undisclosed amount of money. In the CCTV clip released online, which has gone viral, four men were seen to have arrived the bank in a Toyota Camry car with the driver wearing a blue-colour native attire. A security operative was seen

By Dipo Olowookere Shareholders of BUA Cement will receive a dividend of N1.75 for every unit of the company’s stocks in their possession. The cash reward is for the 2019 accounting year and it would be paid electronically to beneficiaries on October 23, 2020. In a notice from the firm, the qualification date for the BUA Cement dividend is September 25, 2020, while the closure of register is from September 28 to October 2, 2020. On October 22, 2020, the company will hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel Abuja at 11am. In the reporting year,

By Modupe Gbadeyanka After two days of negotiations, government delegations of Germany and Namibia on Tuesday, January 31, 2017, initialled a bilateral merchant shipping agreement in Windhoek. This is bound to further strengthen and develop economic relations between the two countries and to promote Namibia’s transformation into a logistics hub for the Southern African region. The German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure was represented by Director General Reinhard Klingen, head of delegation, Mr. Peter Escherich, Head of Department for International Maritime Policy, and Mr. Jürgen Göpel from the Department for International and National Affairs of Seafarers. The Government

By Adedapo Adesanya The House of Representatives has expressed its determination to implement a wholesale reform of customs and excise operations in Nigeria. Speaker of the parliament, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, gave this assurance on Tuesday at a one-day public hearing on the Nigeria Customs Service (establishment) Bill, 2021, organised by the House Committee on Customs and Excise, chaired by Mr Leke Abejide. Mr Gbajabiamila said the House needed the support of the relevant stakeholders, whose contributions he said are critical in the legislative process that would strengthen customs operations. He said the bill was the product of a coordinated effort

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh The Republic of Côte d’Ivoire has abandoned its import substitution policy and other economic measures, including the budgetary allocation for modernizing local agriculture and support for boosting domestic agricultural production. It, however, boasts around 64.8 per cent of arable and agricultural land, which largely remains uncultivated. Arguably, Côte d’Ivoire, located on the Gulf of Guinea (Atlantic Ocean), could support its fishing industry by spending adequate funds on acquiring simple fishing equipment for local people and even start its own large-scale fish ponds but instead plans to increase fish imports into the country. It was gathered that

By Dipo Olowookere It was another bearish performance for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday as it further shed 0.10 per cent when the closing gong was hit by 2:30 pm. Sustained profit-taking in the banking and consumer goods sector contributed to the market’s downfall in the week’s last trading session. An analysis of the sectorial performance showed that the 0.31 per cent growth posted by the insurance counter could not salvage the situation as the banking index dropped 0.23 per cent, and the consumer goods sector depreciated by 0.03 per cent, while the energy and the industrial goods

By Adedapo Adesanya The prices of crude oil grades jumped more than 3 per cent to a five-week high on Friday, lifted again by the decision by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) this week to make its largest supply cut since 2020. Brent futures rose $3.50 or 3.7 per cent to settle at $97.92 a barrel as the United States West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $4.19 or 4.7 per cent to end at $92.64 per barrel. That was the highest weekly close for Brent since August 30 and WTI since August 29. The price

By Adedapo Adesanya   Itel Mobile Nigeria, makers of the itel phones, has launched the itel S16 smartphone series in Nigeria. The launch, which was hosted by Nigerian actress, Mrs Annie Idibia, also saw the company unveiling other electronic products including the itel television, itel power bank, itel AWS Earbuds and the itel extension cord. Speaking at the launch, Mr Oke Umhurhohwo, itel’s marketing manager, reiterated the company’s commitment to providing classy yet budget-friendly devices to its customers in Africa. “For the past 12 years, the itel brand has positioned itself as a brand of the people. Our goal has