By Adedapo Adesanya

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) is considering extending the deadline for its airport taxi upgrade policy to October, following concerns raised by the Nigeria Union of Private Cab Operators.

The development was disclosed on Monday in Lagos by Mr Henry Agbebire, Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at FAAN, saying that the possible extension followed complaints and concerns from airport cab operators, even as the authority maintained that the policy was designed to improve service standards across Nigerian airports.

“The policy aligns with international best practices and seeks to elevate service quality,” Mr Agbebire said.

He added that passengers deserved “clean, safe, comfortable and professionally maintained vehicles” within airport transport systems.

The FAAN spokesman dismissed claims that the authority had failed to engage operators on the policy, insisting that consultations had been ongoing.

He said FAAN maintained regular discussions with licensed transport providers operating within airport premises, stressing that engagement was conducted directly with corporate entities rather than unions or associations.

“Engagements on operational matters are conducted directly with affected corporate entities,” he said.

Mr Agbebire explained that discussions on the upgrade requirement began in July 2024, giving operators time to comply.

He noted that the original compliance deadline had already been extended twice—from January 2026 to June 2026—citing economic realities and the need to give operators adequate preparation time.

According to him, the policy was not intended to punish operators or restrict their participation in airport transport services.

“Operators have been afforded ample opportunity to prepare for compliance,” he stated.

However, he warned that further extensions beyond the proposed October deadline may not be granted.

Mr Agbebire acknowledged the role of airport cab operators in passenger movement, urging them to support the initiative aimed at improving service delivery.

He added that FAAN remains committed to passenger-focused reforms across Nigeria’s aviation sector.

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

A travel agent and visa consultant identified as Mrs Chukwujindu Goodness Nchekwube is currently being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly defrauding about 24 persons.

The suspect, who runs Goodben Global Travels and Tour Limited, was arrested by the agency alongside one Mr Rogers Oluwaseyi Eruku, also known as Bakary Rogers Yanni.

The EFCC said the suspects would be brought before the court as soon as it concludes its investigations regarding bordering on duping the victims of about N68 million under the pretence of assisting them to process work visas.

A petitioner, Mr James Ikechukwu, alleged that the travel agent approached him and introduced herself as a visa consultant capable of assisting people to procure work visas to their desired countries, through Goodben Global Travels and Tour Limited.

He further alleged that between September, 2024 and December, 2025, he contracted Nchekwube’s company (Goodben Global Travels and Tour Limited) to process work visas to various countries for 20 (Twenty) of his clients and the sum of N57.6 million was transferred to her company’s accounts for processing the visas, with a promise to deliver them at a stipulated period of time.

“However, after receiving the money, Mrs Nchekwube blatantly refused to deliver the visas to my clients as agreed, rather, she converted the money to her personal use.

“After much persistence for her to deliver the work visas, she delivered some visas to some of my clients, but to our greatest surprise, it was discovered that the visas/offer letters were forged to make my clients believe that they were genuine”, the petitioner alleged.

In the course of the investigation, the suspect claimed that she gave the said money to Eruku, who had presented himself to her as a reliable person capable of procuring visas for people to any part of the world.  She claimed that the said fake visa/offer letters were procured by Eruku.

In a curious twist, another petitioner, Oranezi David Chinedu, alleged that Eruku, sometime in May 2024, offered to procure work visas for him and three of his friends to Ireland and some other countries.

He claimed that the total money fraudulently collected by Eruku for the visas was N10.4 million, only for him to hand over forged documents to them.

“I was highly disappointed at the [alleged] criminal act by Bakary Rogers Yanni to have collected money for visa processing purposes only to issue me and my friends fake documents,” he said.

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh

To significantly boost economic diplomacy, trade, and tourism between Tanzania and Russia, Air Tanzania will commence direct flights from Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar to Moscow, the capital of Russia, from July 2, 2026.

Early June, the President of Tanzania, Ms Samia Suluhu Hassan, and her delegation were in Moscow and St Petersburg’s SPIEF-2026, at the invitation of Russian leader Vladimir Putin. One of the dominant topics discussed by the two parties was tourism. This was a follow-up to earlier visits by Russian delegations to Tanzania on the matter.

The sides noted that the country is well-positioned to become a more attractive destination for Russian tourists. The Russian party also offered help in promoting Tanzanian tourist products on the Russian market, organising business meetings with Russian travel agents and presenting the tourist potential at Russia’s tourist forums.

The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsiya, sent an authorisation to Air Tanzania for making flights over the route of Dar es Salaam – Moscow. “Rosaviatsiya received an application from the Tanzanian national air carrier, Air Tanzania, to make flights on the route of Dar es Salaam – Moscow. The issue was promptly considered, and the authorisation for flights was already sent to the airline. Air Tanzania did not make flights to Russia before,” Russian Transport Minister Andrey Nikitin told Russian reporters.

Tanzania has been a popular tourist destination for Russian tourists for years, particularly Zanzibar. “Unfortunately, during the pandemic, the number fell sharply, and now we are trying to increase it again. But to increase the number of tourists, we need several factors to be in place. The most important thing to do to bring back the number of tourists to a high level is to establish direct flights from Russia to Tanzania,” Russian Ambassador to Tanzania, Andrey Avetisyan, explained in an interview with The Citizen newspaper.

The key operational and news details include:

Launch Date: Direct flights officially begin on July 2, 2026, marking a massive milestone for African-Eurasian travel.

Frequency: Air Tanzania will operate three weekly flights between Tanzania and Moscow (departing on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays). The journey time will be 8 hours and 30 minutes.

The Route: From Moscow, the flights will operate from Vnukovo airport. Using the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, planes will fly between Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, and Moscow, with initial discussions highlighting a strategic stop in the Seychelles for refuelling.

Tanzania has hit a record in terms of the number of foreign tourists. By facilitating this travel arrangement, Russia and Tanzania have taken a significant step forward in establishing connectivity with the Island, well-known for recreation. Welcomed by East African entrepreneurs, this policy initiative indicates broader efforts to promote a more interconnected and open Africa.

In 2024, the country accepted more than 1.5 million guests on its territory. According to tourism experts, the new development will likely go beyond the traditional recreation, to create grounds for expansion and diversification of its various types of tourism, including medical, sports and business tourism.

Zanzibar, off Tanzania’s coast, is one of East Africa’s most popular tourist destinations and attracts visitors from Europe and North America. In addition, Zanzibar is now attracting Russian tourists. “We look forward to the emerging tourism dynamics, future collaboration between the two countries,” says Tour Operator Karina Yefimova at the “Let’s Travel” forum in June 2026.

With an estimated population of 1.9 million people, Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island.