Foreign Airlines’ Unrepatriated $812m in Nigeria Worries IATA

By Adedapo Adesanya Flutterwave has joined the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) payment orchestration platform to facilitate travel-related payments easily to sub-Saharan Africa. With this integration, airlines worldwide can process customer payments through cards, bank transfers, mobile money, alternative payment methods and other payment modes available on Flutterwave. IATA Financial Gateway (IFG) is an omnichannel payment orchestration and management platform fully dedicated to the airline industry. It has been designed to allow airlines to receive local payments from local markets through all their distribution channels. IATA has some 290 international airlines; this partnership enables them to easily expand their operations

By Modupe Gbadeyanka All the employees of Azman Air except for a few senior executives have been sent on compulsory after the management suspended the company’s operations. The leave is without pay, according to a circular issued to members of staff, signed by the Human Resources Manager, Magaji Mohammed Misau. According to Leadership Newspaper, the airline operator took this step because its Boeing 737 aircraft taken abroad for C-check maintenance was yet to return. This has rendered the organisation’s commercial operations useless, especially after the conclusion of the Hajj operations last month. “As you are aware that our domestic operations

By Adedapo Adesanya The Minister of Transportation, Mr Saidu Alkali, inaugurated the first cargo movement from the Lagos-Ibadan rail corridor during his first official tour of the rail corridor on Tuesday. This effort is expected to decongest the Apapa port as shippers moved 92.28 per cent of Nigeria’s total exports and 60.77 per cent of imports through the facility in the first quarter of 2022 (Q1’22), according to the latest available data. The Minister kicked off the tour at the Ebute Meta station before proceeding to Apapa for the launch, then travelled to Ibadan using the 157 km rail corridor.

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 Ahmed Rahma A Swedish-Swiss multinational corporation, ABB, has called on governments and industries to accelerate the adoption of the technology to help combat climate change. ABB, which is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, revealed in its new whitepaper titled Achieving the Paris Agreement: The Vital Role of High-Efficiency Motors and Drives in Reducing Energy Consumption that there is the potential for significant energy efficiency improvements in industry and infrastructure, which can be enabled by the latest and most high-efficiency motors and variable speed drives. According to the President of ABB Motion, Morten Wierod, industrial energy efficiency has the single greatest capacity

A funding solution from Standard Bank’s Real Estate Financing division has helped Growthpoint Investec African Properties Limited (GIAP) expand its sub-Saharan footprint, following the acquisition of properties from the RMB Westport Fund I (RMBW). Standard Bank acted as Mandated Lead Arranger, underwriter and coordinator and agency functions with transactional banking solutions to follow. Historically, property acquisition in sub-Saharan Africa has been on a bilateral single asset deal basis, and GIAP recently concluded transactions with AttAfrica for the acquisition of Manda Hill in Lusaka, Zambia, and Achimota Mall in Accra, Ghana. Subsequently, the Group was then presented with the opportunity to

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The closure of the Sheraton Abuja Hotel by its operators, Capital Hotels Plc, has not gone down well with Marriot International, which has managed the hotel for over 30 years. In a statement on Tuesday, the largest hotel chain in the world said the action was taken hastily and could have a harsh effect on the Nigerian economy. It said the management of Capital Hotels did not think through the closure as the decision to shut down the hospitality facility has resulted in the loss of jobs to 291 members of staff of the hotel. Marriot said

By Adedapo Adesanya AFEX Commodities Exchange Limited has announced plans to drive initiatives for stakeholders in the agricultural sector to promote investor education in a bid to help them make informed investment decisions as the sector continues to expand. This is part of efforts aimed at ensuring that farmers and other relevant stakeholders in the commodities market are financially literate to harness opportunities in the capital market. Part of the initiatives will involve knowledge-sharing sessions, video tutorials, one-on-one with financial experts, and detailed reports on commodity value chains, all of which will be incorporated into its technological platforms. Speaking on

By Adedapo Adesanya The Board of the League Management Company (LMC) Limited has called for calm over the purported demand for the withdrawal of its licence, stating that it was engaging with the federal government and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) toward a resolution. The body in a statement seen by Business Post on Tuesday insisted that it is legally situated both in football laws/regulations (NFF and FIFA Statutes) and Nigeria corporate laws (CAC Act). The management company said its attention has been drawn to a media release from the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development (FMYSD) to the

By Dipo Olowookere The sum of N6.4 billion is to be shared between the Kwara State government and the 16 local government areas of the state. This money was given to the state and local governments as part of their share from the federation account for May. A statement released on Wednesday by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance in Kwara State, Mr Benjamin Fatigun, disclosed that while the state government is getting N3.7 billion from the amount, the 16 local governments will share N2.7 billion. Mr Fatigun disclosed further that the N3.7 billion received this month was

By Adedapo Adesanya The domestic currency appreciated against the United States Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market on Monday, December 20. According to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange, the local currency gained 27 kobo or 0.06 per cent during the session to close at N414.80/$1 compared with N415.07/$1 it traded last Friday. The Naira regained this strength yesterday in the midst of a 138.4 per cent rise in FX demand, according to the analysis of the data obtained by Business Post. At the I&E window on Monday, transactions valued at $360.18

By Adedapo Adesanya The Senate on Wednesday threw out the request of President Muhammadu Buhari to amend section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act he signed into law a few days ago. The clause prevents appointive political office holders from contesting for election from the party’s primary level without resigning. The request was rejected after the Senate Leader, Mr Yahaya Abdullahi made the lead debate for the second reading of the bill on Wednesday. The Senators kicked against it and voted no when put to voice votes by the Senate President, Mr Ahmad Lawan. President Buhari last week wrote the