Travel/Tourism
CPC Orders VIP Express Tourism Ltd To Refund N25m to Customers
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Marriott Bonvoy, which is known for its 30 hotel brands across the world, as well as its iconic Homes and Villas by Marriott International vacation rental collection, boasts a popular vacation timeshare scheme, the Marriott Vacation Club.
Marriott Vacation Club has over 60 resorts and 13,000 villas located all over the world. In addition, the Marriott Vacation Club Pulse operates urban hotels for visitors seeking a taste of the big city.
Being a member of the Marriott Vacation Club may be a useful alternative depending on your travel needs and patterns. If you want to terminate your Marriott Vacation Club timeshare contract and eliminate future payments and fees, learn how to write a Marriot vacation club timeshare cancellation letter.
Meanwhile, the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has ordered VIP Express Tourism Limited to refund over N25 million to 63 aggrieved subscribers of its holiday packages due to alleged gross violation of their rights.
CPC’s order, which was signed by its Director General, Mrs Dupe Atoki, was the outcome of its investigation into the operations of the company, following complaints alleging gross abuse of consumers’ rights against the company.
The Council’s investigation was informed by the multiplicity of consumer complaints, concerning the quality of service provided by VIP Express Tourism Limited and in particular allegations that consumers of its services had been pressurised, manipulated or deceived into contracts for the provision of vacation accommodation services
VIP Express Tourism Limited is in the hospitality business through which it enlists subscriptions from the public with the promise of facilitating subscribers’ holiday destination desires after their completion of agreed payments.
According to the Council, “VIP Express Tourism Limited purchases timeshares on behalf of its members but once the member signs on to any of its packages, the contract cannot be rescinded neither can the member get a refund of monies paid because ab initio members were made to waive their cancellation rights upon signing the contract.”
It explained further the company’s business practice, which is designed in such a manner that “after a 90-minute presentation, prospective clients must immediately execute a 10-page contract and endorse 17 clauses containing a non-rescission clause and a non-refund clause, without the benefit of legal counsel, financial or other advice and in circumstances that do not afford the client time to consider the offer, is unscrupulous, obnoxious and exploitative”.
CPC alleged that the company’s operational method was predatory and that its business practice in which consumers were pressurised to unwittingly sign off their legal rights to rescind or get a refund of monies paid was unethical and exploitative.
The Council contended that, contrary to what has been obtainable in VIP Express Tourism Limited’s business operations, international best practice allows for the cancellation of a timeshare.
The Council disclosed that its investigation substantiated various allegations of violations of its enabling Act, arguing that “the complainants having paid various sums of money to the respondent at various times are entitled to a refund because the contract is obnoxious, unscrupulous, exploitative and therefore cannot be enforced against them”.
CPC, therefore, directed the company to, within 30 days of the receipt of the order, refund the total sum of N25,062,223 to the aggrieved consumers, and that “in the event of default pay interest thereon at the prevailing bank interest rate for any day of default until final liquidation.”
The Council also ordered the company to within the same 30 days “review its contract agreements by removing the clauses that waive the consumer’s right to rescind the contract and get a refund and submit same to the Council for review”, and that the agreements must “specify the time within which prospective subscribers may rescind the contract and be entitled to refund.”
It also directed VIP Express Tourism Limited to “ensure full disclosure of all material facts in all documents to prospective subscribers to enable them to make informed decisions”; refrain from the use of unscrupulous and obnoxious methods of persuasion to get customers to sign contracts, and to desist from the use of predatory systems to get the custom of consumers.
CPC also ordered the company to “provide a written consumer complaint and redress policy with specific provisions regarding the cancellation, reservation, refund of subscribers’ monies” and to submit same to it for approval within 30 days of the receipt of the Order and post same on its website.
It also directed the company to “present written assurances in line with Section 10 of the Consumer Protection Council Act that it would refrain from a continuation of any conduct which is detrimental to the interest of consumers of their services”.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
In a move aimed at improving passenger clearance, compliance and customs operations, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has introduced the Simplified Customs Advanced Declaration System (SCADS).
This platform was launched at the International Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Monday, May 18, 2026.
This initiative will simplify baggage declaration for inbound international passengers and reduce manual bottlenecks, improve transparency in revenue assessment and enhance operational efficiency at Nigeria’s international airports.
It allows passengers to declare items before arrival, thereby reducing clearance time while improving compliance and operational integrity.
The introduction of this scheme became necessary following operational challenges encountered on the Service’s previous passenger declaration platform earlier this year, and rather than allow the setbacks to slow operations, customs chose to develop a stronger and more efficient alternative.
“When the earlier platform experienced operational challenges, we chose not to see it as a setback. We saw it as an opportunity to build something better, stronger and more efficient.
“For passengers, this system creates the opportunity for advance declaration before arrival. It means faster clearance, easier compliance and smoother movement through our airports,” the Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of ICT/Modernisation, Ms Oluyomi Adebakin, said yesterday.
She noted that the system will eliminate subjective revenue assessment by ensuring that duties are automatically generated based on declared items, their quantities, and their actual values.
“When we talk about revenue collection, it is not about collecting more or less. It is about collecting the right revenue. With this system, assessment will now be more objective, accurate and driven by data,” she stated.
Earlier, the Customs Area Controller for FCT Area Command, Comptroller Victoria Alibo, described the selection of the command for the pilot phase as a vote of confidence in its operational capacity.
According to her, the new platform integrates passenger baggage and e-commerce declarations into a single digital framework designed to support global Customs best practices.
“SCADS is designed to simplify declarations, reduce clearance time, eliminate manual bottlenecks and align our operations with international standards,” Ms Alibo said, adding that the pilot phase will run for five days, from Monday, May 18, to Friday, May 22, 2026, during which officers will evaluate the system in a live environment ahead of nationwide deployment.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The price of aviation fuel, also known as Jet A1, has been reduced by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals to N1,650 per litre from N1,750 per litre.
The company, in a statement, said this price slash was done to ease cost pressures on airlines and ensure an uninterrupted fuel supply across the country.
This is in addition to a 30-day interest-free credit facility backed by bank guarantees (BG) for marketers and airline operators and a shift from a dollar-denominated pricing structure to a naira-based model.
The private refiner also stated that these interventions come amid growing concerns over the rising operational costs faced by domestic carriers, with aviation fuel accounting for a significant portion of airline expenses.
Industry stakeholders have repeatedly warned that escalating Jet A1 prices were placing severe financial strain on operators and threatening the sustainability of flight operations.
The refinery’s decision is expected to provide relief to airline operators by lowering fuel procurement costs, improving operational stability, and supporting efforts to moderate airfares.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured a final forfeiture order for a Hawker private Jet 125 before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, over its links to fraud, corruption, and money laundering in relation to the Maiduguri Emergency Power Project (MEPP).
The aircraft, with model number 800XP, serial number 258553 and registration number 5N-AMK, was forfeited following an application by the EFCC.
Justice Nwite, ruling on the application, held that no sufficient cause was shown by Valiente Jet Limited, a company owned by Mr Abdulsalam Kachallah, an interested party, why the aircraft should not be finally forfeited to the Federal Government.
“The interested party has not demonstrated with evidence the lawful origin of the funds used to purchase the aircraft,” the judge held, stressing that the disguised manner through which the aircraft was acquired using the name of a Bureau De Change (BDC) operator who denied knowledge of the nature of the transaction further lent credence to the unlawfulness of the entire transaction.
In a statement by the anti-graft agency, it disclosed that the investigation revealed Mr Kachallah entered into unlawful agreements with China Machinery Engineering Company (CMEC) through shell companies.
The EFCC also alleged that he sold privileged bidding information relating to the project in exchange for financial inducements.
“The investigation further showed that CMEC was subsequently awarded three contracts under the project valued at $52,120,172 (Fifty Two Million One Hundred and Twenty Thousand, One Hundred and Seventy Two Dollars) and ₦20,213,956,953 (Twenty Billion, Two Hundred and Thirteen Million, Nine Hundred and Fifty Six Thousand, Nine Hundred and Fifty Three Naira),” it said.
The EFCC revealed that part of the contract funds was routed through Afuwa Integrated Services Limited, a Bureau De Change operator, under the false claim that the company was subcontracted by CMEC.
“CMEC transferred the sum of $2,070,000 (Two Million, Seventy Thousand Dollars) into the Stanbic IBTC Bank account of Afuwa Integrated Services Limited on Kachallah’s instruction,” it further revealed.
It disclosed that forged invoices were prepared in the name of Afuwa Integrated Services Limited to falsely portray that legitimate services had been rendered to CMEC.
“The funds were thereafter transferred to a Brazilian account for the purchase of the aircraft from a Brazilian company,” the EFCC revealed.
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