CBN Auctions N140 Billion through OMO

In line with its restrictive monetary policy, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Wednesday sold securities worth N140.339 billion through its open market operation (OMO).

The OMO is a monetary policy instrument which the central bank uses to control the supply of money in the system by buying or selling securities in the open market. By selling securities at the OMO, the apex bank withdraws the volume of money in circulation.

According to report made available to THISDAY, the CBN offered a total of N120 billion securities which was oversubscribed.
Specifically, the apex bank offered N50 billion for 120-day tenor instruments and N70 billion for 127-day instruments. The instruments are expected to mature on May 2, 2013 and May 9, 2013 respectively.
While the subscription for the 120-day tenor was N114.856 billion, the apex bank only sold a total of N50.275 billion. In the same vein, while the subscription for the 127-day tenor was N155.314 billion, total sale stood at N90.064 billion. The stop rates were 13.2990 per cent and 13.340 per cent respectively.

Country Treasurer and Head of Fixed Income Currencies and Commodities, CitiBank Nigeria Limited, Mr. Akinsowon Dawodu, said the financial market had continued to witness strong portfolio inflow into the equity and fixed income markets.

He added: “The bond market was dominated by the FGN bonds in 2012. The addition of FGN bonds to the JP Morgan Emerging Market Government Bond Index saw a strong rally with yields ultimately dropping by over 400 basis points by year end.

“Offshore interest in Nigerian government bonds picked up sharply in the second half and this was the primary cause of the sharp rally in price (and simultaneous drop in yields) described above. In all, incremental offshore flows of around $1.5bn were expected as a result of Nigeria’s inclusion in this index.”

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Interbank Offered Rates (NIBOR) fell at the end of trading on the first business session in 2013 held yesterday.
Findings showed that while the overnight tenor dropped to 10.50 per cent yesterday, from 10.58 per cent on Monday, the 7-day tenor also reduced to 11.17 per cent yesterday, from 11.37 per cent on Monday. Also, just as the 30-day tenor declined to 12.54 per cent yesterday from 12.96 per cent on Monday, the 60-day tenor also reduced to 12.96 per cent.

Kano to Train 5,000 Women on Dairy Production

Kano State Government has concluded arrangement to train and support 5,000 women with exotic cows for development of dairy production in the state.

This move is to be aligned with Commercial Agriculture Development Project (CADP), in line with the organisation’s dairy value chain.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Alhaji Muhammadu Dankadai Ibrahim, disclosed that it was evident that since the inception of Governor Kwankwaso administration, agriculture was accorded major priority and the sector remained a focal point for investment by the state government.

According to him, “Kano state government has put in place all fundamental structures for agricultural transformation of both the state and federal government to succeed”.

Speaking in Kano during the recent opening of the 7th FGN/World Bank supervision mission to Kano state CADP held at Nasarawa Guest Inn, he assured on the state government’s commitment to agricultural development in the all nooks and crannies of the state.

“Government is proud of CADP over its rural infrastructural development. Their intervention in the provision of farm access roads and rural energy will not only provide essential conditions for agricultural development, but also provide education and medical services related to enhancing the quality of lives of the rural populace”.

According to him  “CADP should also look at gender issue in dairy value chain where cows are owned by males, and milking of cows are also done by male members of the household, and milking handling, processing and marketing activities are solely the responsibilities of the female”.

He also appealed to the CADP to accelerate the implementation of the second batch of rural roads and energy so that many farmers would have the encouragement to continue to invest their time, energy and resources in the sector.

FG Tasked on Economic Diversification to Ensure Peace

The Federal Government has been enjoined to aggressively pursue an economic diversification policy to ensure equal opportunities, improved welfare and peaceful co-existence and sustainable development for all Nigerians.

The call was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of a recent roundtable meeting involving relevant Committees of the House of Representatives on the implementation of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) process and emerging issues.
The forum was organised by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), with support from Pact-Nigeria, while the communiqué was jointly signed by the Executive Director, CISLAC Abuja, Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani) and the Programme Coordinator, Revenue Watch Institute (RWI) Nigeria Office, Abuja, Mr. Dauda Garuba.

The roundtable, held at the National Assembly in Abuja, was attended by 40 participants, including some Chairmen and members of the House Committees on Petroleum Upstream, Downstream, Gas Resources, Solid Minerals and Public Accounts, the Executive Secretary and staff of NEITI, CSOs and the Media.

Presentations were made on the proposed ‘Fiscal Allocation and Statutory Disbursement Audit’ by the Executive Secretary of NEITI Hajia Zainab Ahmed; ‘The NEITI process, the Petroleum Industry Bill and Transparency in the Extractive Industry’ by Dauda Garuba and ‘Financial Secrecy and Leakages in the Extractive Sector’ by Kolawole Banwo.

The meeting observed that NEITI has demonstrated commitment and forthrightness in the fight for transparency and accountability in spite of the odds militating against its operations
It also noted that the corruption and sleaze revealed by the several probes in the petroleum sector would have been forestalled had the recommendations in the 10 years of NEITI audit reports been implemented; and that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approval of Fiscal Allocation and Statutory Disbursement Audit was a welcome development in the NEITI process.

“The PIB 2012 as currently before the National Assembly (NASS) does not align with the Nigerian Oil and Gas Policy 2005, especially when measured against the Federal Government’s vision of spinning off its direct running of the oil and gas economy and the overbearing powers being proposed to be wielded by the Minister of Petroleum Resources.

“The overdependence of Nigeria on oil remains an albatross for development, given how it fuels corruption, conflicts and national disharmony among the citizenry”, the communiqué noted.
Stakeholders resolved to continue to collaborate and provide NEITI and its Board with the support it deserves to enable it successfully carry out the Fiscal Allocation and Statutory Disbursement Audit billed to happen in 2013.

“The National Assembly will, in appreciation of the good work NEITI is doing, support and strengthen its capacity to be independent and to deliver on its mandate by acceding to its budgetary needs.

“The National Assembly, working with other stakeholders in civil society and the media, will intensify its efforts to ensure the implementation of the recommendations contain in the NEITI audit reports to enable Nigeria maximise the full benefits from its extractive resources
“The legislature, NEITI and civil society will continue to forge closer collaboration on the EITI implementation in Nigeria with a view to building on the successes recorded till date for purposes of achieving greater results.

“The House of Representatives will ensure a close scrutiny of the Petroleum Industry Bill 2012 with a view to ensuring that all interested stakeholders – including the NEITI Secretariat and civil society – are allowed equal opportunities to make inputs into the Bill as well as ensure that such inputs actually count at the passage of the bill”, the participants further resolved.
They commended CISLAC for organising the roundtable and Pact-Nigeria for facilitating it, and made a commitment to continue to collaborate until natural resources and the benefit that accrue from them translate into poverty reduction, improved welfare and sustainable development for the citizenry.

Stakeholder Confident of New SEC Board

A major stakeholder  in the Nigerian capital market and Chairman, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc, Alhaji Suleiman Yahyah,  has expressed confidence in the newly-constituted board of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The Federal Government the previous weekend appointed a board for SEC with Suleyman Ndanusa, a former director-general of the commission, as chairman.

Other members are: Mallam Mounir Gwarzo; Mrs. Sa’adatu Bello; Mr. Zakawanu Imhobobho Garuba; Mr. Adefunke Abiodun; Mr. Ugochukwu Ikemba.

Yahyah said: “The new SEC governance team are well-experienced stockbrokers, investment bankers, lawyers, economist with cognate primary market and secondary market experience and recall Ndanusa managed the SEC creditably in the boom years of 2002 to 2006 and Gwarzo was also part of that team.

“It was during their time that the Investment and Securities Tribunal was established to foster efficient dispute resolution and embed transparency.”

Yahyah  enthused that “now that the insiders have returned to the apex regulator with governance responsibility at the beginning of a heady market recovery, I’m confident that with clever insights and tweaking of management and attraction of new and strong talents, we will begin to see enhanced enforcement and regulatory proactiveness, all key ingredients needed to sustain market confidence.”

Economists advise FG to check rising debt profile

Some economists have advised the Federal Government to check the country’s rising debt profile to save the private sector from further job losses.

They told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos on Wednesday that the rising debt stock could retard development and cause more hardship to the people.

The Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Muda Yusuf, said the nation’s domestic debt stock was more disturbing than the external debt.

Yusuf said the government might not be in a position to execute projects to aid the growth of the private sector if the rising debt stock was not checked.

According to him, the increase in the domestic debt will make it difficult for the private sector to access credit to import raw materials.

He said that the cost of servicing debts was too high, even when other sectors were not well funded.

“The rate at which the Federal Government is borrowing is high and no country can develop with high interest rates on loans,” he said.

The General Manager, True Bond Microfinance Bank, Mr. Wole Olowu, advised the government to rationalise its structures, stressing that some agencies were performing same functions.

He also urged the government to tackle the problem of ghost workers in the public service to reduce the debt profile drastically.

“The government is losing huge money through this medium, which can be used to finance other sectors of the economy,” he said.

Olowu said the problem of inflated contracts must also be tackled, alleging that majority of contracts were over-bloated.

A Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics, University of Lagos, Dr. Kazzem Bello, said excessive borrowing would not bring about national development, but would rather inflict poverty on the people.

He advised the government to drastically reduce its recurrent expenditure to enable it save funds to execute capital projects.

Dana resumes flight operations tomorrow

Dana Air will on Friday (tomorrow) resume flight operations, approximately seven months and one day after the airline was involved in a fatal crash in Lagos on June 3, leading to the death of 163 people.

The Head, Corporate Communications, Dana, Mr. Tony Usidamen, who confirmed the development on Wednesday, said the resumption came after necessary approval was received from the Federal Government.

“We are resuming operations on Friday. Our inaugural flight is 9:45am on Friday. Several dignitaries from aviation agencies and our brand ambassadors will be on board the flight,” Usidamen said.

Investigations by our correspondent revealed that the Federal Government had on Monday given its final approval for Dana Air to resume flight operations.

The approval, dated December 31, 2012, was contained in a letter to the Director-General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Dr. Harold Demuren, and signed by the Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah.

The letter, a copy of which was obtained by our correspondent, was, titled, ‘Release of Dana Air to return to flight operations.’

The letter read, “Your letter NCAA/DG/GM/115/vol/32 dated December 18, 2012, stating that NCAA has carried out recertification of Dana Air and the airline has completed phase five of Air Operators Certificate re-certification process, including conducting of proving and test flights and praying for release of Dana Air to return to flight operations refers.

“This letter is to convey my approval for the resumption of flight operations of Messrs Dana Air Limited with the following conditions: Messrs Dana Air should complete payment of compensations of all insurance obligations/claims within two months to the dependents of the victims of the crash, and the airline should abide by the safety regulations of the NCAA and strict surveillance by your organisation.”

Dana Air, which was involved in a fatal crash in Lagos on June 3, 2012, had its licence revoked by the government two days after.

In September, the government reinstated the licence. In early December, NCAA issued a new Air Operators Certificate to the airline after it completed the necessary recertification process.

Meanwhile, NCAA officials resumed work after the Christmas and New Year break with the special prayers for safe flights operations in and out of the Nigerian airspace from now on.

The prayer was led by the spokesman for the agency, Mr. Sam Adurogboye.

The Director, Human Resources and Administration, NCAA, Mr. Austin Amadi, who represented Demuren at the session, admonished the employees to be humble in their disposition.

He urged them to be more dedicated to work and be professional in the discharge of their duties.

FG to support private airlines with 30 aircraft

The Federal Government on Wednesday gave hope for a rejuvenated aviation industry with the announcement that it would provide 30 new aircraft to private airline operators in the country.

Making the disclosure in Benin, Edo State, the General Manager, Corporate Communications, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Mr. Yakubu Dati, said the government had found better ways to intervene in the aviation industry, including duty waivers on imported aircraft spare parts.

Dati, who was on an inspection tour of ongoing reconstruction work at the Benin Airport, also spoke of plans by the government to rid airports across the country of abandoned aircraft as part of plans to make Nigeria’s airspace safer.

Addressing journalists at the end of the facility tour, Dati expressed government’s discomfort over the high cost of domestic flights in the country and said the government was working on ways to bring down airfares across the country.

He said, “Recall there is the Aviation Intervention Fund put in place by the Central Bank Nigeria and the Bank of Industry, but it has been abused. Some just collected money and closed shop. The new arrangement is to make available aircraft as part of intervention in the aviation industry.

“Government has concluded arrangements to procure 30 aircraft as a way of supporting private airline operators in the overall interest of bringing down airfares in Nigeria.”

Ogun Assembly passes N212bn budget for 2013

The Ogun State House of Assembly on Monday passed the Governor Ibikunle Amosun-led administration’s N211.86bn budget proposal for the 2013 fiscal year.

Presiding over the passage of the budget by 21 members of the assembly, the Speaker, Mr. Suraj Adekunbi, said it was passed “having considered the budget proposal clause by clause and section by section.”

Amosun had presented the 2013 budget proposal tagged; ‘Budget for sustainable growth, to the legislature on November 20, 2012 for the lawmakers’ consideration and passage.

The budget proposal as presented before the House by the governor was made up of N118.23bn capital expenditure or 56 per cent of the total estimates, and N93.64bn recurrent expenditure, representing 44 per cent of the total budget outlay, which represented an increase of 5.6 per cent when compared with the 2012 budget.

Adekunbi, while reading the budget proposal on the floor of the House, said after its third reading, the budget was passed and sent to the governor for his assent.

Jonathan approves extension of goods, destination inspection contracts

President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday approved the extension of the agreement between the Federal Government and Global ScanSystem Limited for the provision, installation, operation and management of x-ray scanning equipment and software for the inspection of goods.

A letter from the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Mr. Danladi Kifasi, to the Managing Director of Global ScanSystem, conveyed the extension of the agreement dated January 1, 2006.

Kifasi said in the letter, “The agreement, which is to expire on December 31, 2012, has been extended for a period of six months with effect from January 1, 2013.

“You are to contact the legal unit of the Ministry for the preparation and execution of the new agreement within one week of the date of this offer. Details of the new allocation of lots will be conveyed in a few days. Meanwhile, you are expected to operate within the current allocation.”

The President also approved the extension of the agreement between the Federal Government and service providers on the destination inspection project, by six months with effect from January 1, 2013.

Kifasi said “By the extension of their agreements, service providers are to continue with their operations within the current allocation of lots until details of new allocation of lots are concluded.

“The service providers are to contact the legal unit of the Federal Ministry of Finance for the preparation and execution of the new agreement.”

He enjoined all government agencies, freight forwarders, banks and other bodies operating at the various air, sea and land border ports to take note of the contract extensions.

FG to give rural farmers N60bn cell phones

As part of its efforts to modernise agriculture, the Federal Government has said it has concluded arrangements to empower 10 million farmers in the rural areas across the country with cell phones.

The distribution of the cell phones worth about N60bn to the benefiting rural farmers is expected to commence by the end of the first quarter of this year.

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mrs. Ibukun Odusote, who disclosed this on Tuesday during a sensitisation and orientation programme organised in Igan Ipabi for farmers in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State, said the fund for the project had already been provided by the government.

She also said that farmers would get 50 per cent subsidy on fertiliser and other necessary assistance from the government.

Odusote said that the plan was part of the e-Wallet project under which the ministry officials would be able to educate, inform and communicate with the farmers in the rural areas across the country on the latest and best agricultural practices, as well as the current prices of commodities in the market.

She said the provision of the cell phones to the rural farmers was being undertaken by the Agriculture and Rural Development ministry in collaboration with the Ministry of Communication Technology.

The permanent secretary added that the Ministry of Communication Technology had already discussed with the various service providers on how to execute the project.

Odusote said the 10 million cell phones would be procured from manufacturers in China and the United States, adding that the two countries also had interest in investing in Nigeria’s agricultural sector.

She said, “We are talking about 10 million phones. Each phone will be about N4,000 or N6,000 because they are in large quantities, we are not just going to buy them in pieces like that. Probably, we will buy direct from the manufacturing companies.

 “As part of the e-Wallet, that is, electronic wallet, which we are promoting; the handsets will be the tool with which we will communicate with farmers in the rural areas. Deep into the interiors, we will be able to communicate with them.

“We are actually working with the Ministry of Communication Technology, which is talking to the network providers. We have agreed that they are going to expand their networks into the rural areas where normally they will say there is no economic viability. But because the Federal Government will be putting some support into this, they will go into the hinterlands and create and expand their networks so that we can have access.”

The permanent secretary also said because of the problem of inadequate power supply, the rural farmers that would benefit from the e-wallet project would also be provided with solar-powered lamps with which they could charge the cell phones.

Odusote said, “They (farmers) will be able to charge their phones because we are looking at the complete value chain concerning this matter. And the emphasis is on women and young people, the youth, so that the ageing population of farmers can actually rest and the younger generation that will understand what we are talking about in terms of electronic systems will be able to come alive and take over farming in Nigeria.

“We are creating awareness and as we are doing so, we are calling young people to begin to take interest in the rural areas and farms, and we are encouraging them by creating enabling environment for them so that they can now find it convenient to do what we are asking them to do. We look forward to getting good results.”

The Regional Director, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Olalekan Quadri, said plans had reached an advanced stage to ensure that farmers had access to mechanised implements.

He said farmers would also seize the opportunity of the cell phones to be given them to transact business and sell their produce with less stress.

World Bank Chides Nigeria, Others over Poor Statistics

The World Bank has decried the quality and relevance of data from Nigeria and other African countries, which it described as largely obsolete.

The bank’s Director, Department of Economic Policy and Poverty Reduction Programmes, Africa, Mr. Marcelo Giugale, stated this in a report e-mailed to THISDAY at the weekend.
He expressed concern that a lot of money had been invested in improving statistics in a lot of countries in the continent, explaining that most of that money came as donations from well-meaning rich countries.

He said a report tagged: ‘Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century,’ had revealed that between 2009 and 2011, Africa received $700 million to build up its capacity to collect data. He stressed that communication technology is what would revolutionise African statistics.

Giugale added: “First, we don't really know how big (or small) many African economies are. In about half of them, the system of “national accounts” dates back to the 1960s (1968, to be precise); in the other half, it is from 1993. This means that measuring things like how much is produced, consumed or invested is done with methods from the times when computers were rare, the Internet did not exist and nobody spoke about "globalisation. That is, the methodology ignores the fact that some industries have disappeared and new ones were born.

“How badly does this skew the data? Well, to give you an idea, when Ghana used a newer methodology to update its accounts in 2010, it found out that its economy was about 60 per cent bigger than it had previously thought - and the country instantly became "middle-income" in the global ranking.

“Second, the latest poverty counts for Africa are, on average, five years old. So we only have guesstimates of how the global financial, food and fuel crises have impacted the distribution of income, wealth and opportunities in the region. This is because, to count the poor, you need “household surveys” - those face-to-face, home visits where people are asked how much they earn, own, know and so on. In fifteen African countries, this has been done only once since 2000.”

The World Bank official pointed out that the advent of technology now allows for the surveys to be done not only more frequently, but continuously.

“Industrial surveys are even more infrequent than household surveys - only a handful of African countries have done at least one in the last ten years. This is a pity! Knowing what your producers are doing -- and what keeps them from producing more - is critical if you want to design policies that increase employment, productivity and economic growth.

“To be sure, academics, non-governmental organisations, development banks and business organisations carry out sporadic surveys of enterprises for one purpose or another - from understanding how informal jobs are created to selling logistical services. But regular, comprehensive, nation-wide data is, at best, rare,” he stated.

NNPC Restores Vandalised Ije-Ododo Pipeline, Assures on Product Supply

Few days after a major artery in its pipeline networks located at Ije-Ododo, Amuwo-Odofin area of Lagos was vandalised and resulted into a fire outbreak, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has announced  the comprehensive restoration of the pipeline to normalcy.

The NNPC also said in a statement yesterday in Abuja, from its acting Group General Manager Public Affairs, Mr. Fidel Pepple, that with this development, pumping of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol has resumed in earnest to depots and tank farms in it’s System 2B, spanning from Atlas-Cove to Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

The statement assured Nigerians and motorists that with the restoration of the Ije-Ododo and System 2B pipelines, normalcy had been restored in the supply and distribution of petroleum products across the country.

He said: “I can affirm to you that our engineers from the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company Limited (PPMC) have finally fixed the Ije-Ododo pipeline that was ruptured last Monday by activities of pipeline vandals.

“Going forward, the good news for Nigerians is that we have resumed pumping of petroleum products through the pipeline and System 2B is equally working after the restoration of the pipeline.”

Pepple also described media reports that fuel scarcity and queues in some parts of the country may last beyond the new year as mischievious, noting that the corporation still maintains zero tolerance to fuel scarcity and fuel queues in filling stations.
He stated that the recent fuel queues experienced around the country were basically due to the activities of pipeline vandals and closure of a number of filling stations due to the Christmas holidays and not shortage of petroleum products.

According to him, the corporation has product sufficiency that can sustain the country for more than a month just as it is making concerted effort to sustain supply of petrol across every part of the country to ease the movement of people as they travel from one place to the other before and after the New Year.

Pepple also asked petrol marketers in the country to avoid the nefarious diversion of petroleum products to black market operators, adding that stringent punitive actions would be meted out to those found wanting.

He enjoined them to team up with the NNPC to ensure sustained supply and distribution of petroleum products into the New Year, as well as motorists to desist from panic buying, stressing that there is no truth in the on-going rumours that there will be an increase in the pump price of fuel in January 2013.

“The Federal Government has made budgetary provision for fuel subsidy in the 2013 budget which was recently passed by the National Assembly,” Pepple added.

Nigeria Borrows $4.4bn from World Bank in Seven Years

The Federal Government has borrowed a total of $4.4 billion in external loans in the past seven years. Of this amount, which was approved by the World Bank, only $1.8 billion has been disbursed while the balance continues to attract a service charge.

The revelation came just as the House of Representatives endorsed the Federal Government's 2013-2015 External Borrowing Plan.

A report on the investigation conducted by the House of Representatives Committee on Aids, Loans and Debt Management on the 2013-2015 External Borrowing Plan placed a ceiling on external borrowing at $7.3 billion as opposed to the over $9 billion proposed by the Federal Government.

According to the report, Nigeria has risen to become the largest recipient of disbursements from the International Development Agency (IDA) between 2009 and 2012 and currently has the largest outstanding IDA portfolio in Africa, ahead of Kenya and Tanzania.

However, the report said Nigeria's external debt profile remained at a level where it could accommodate more loans without violating the internationally accepted 40 per cent Debt/GDP ratio and the 25 per cent country specific threshold for debt stock levels.
Chairman, House Committee on Aids, Loans and Debt Management, Hon. Adeyinka Ajayi, who presented the report to the House, observed that the federal and state governments that have proposed fresh external borrowings have justified their demands and have acceptable debt sustainability levels.

The purposes for which the borrowings are being requested, Ajayi said, were in substantial compliance with the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007, being for capital projects and human capital development.

The facilities, he observed, would be obtained under concessionary terms with zero per cent interest rates, except the China Export-Import (EXIM) Bank loan at a 2.5 per cent rate of interest, and considerable moratorium and amortisation periods.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has demanded the submission of half-yearly reports on all existing external loans taken by federal and state governments to the National Assembly.

The reports, it said, must contain relevant information such as the principle amount, the amount drawn down, the balance, expected use of the credit facility, and what has actually been achieved with the amount borrowed.
Sections 41,42, 44 and 47 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act prescribe conditions for borrowing and verification of compliance limits upon which the National Assembly could base its approval for borrowings.

FG to go tough on private jet owners

There are indications that the Federal Government will impose stringent measures on private jet owners and charter aircraft operators to avert disaster in the general aviation section, investigation by our correspondent has revealed.

This, it was learnt, was the outcome of an emergency meeting between the Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Stella Oduah, and heads of the aviation agencies, with some top players in the aviation sector in Abuja last Wednesday.

The minister reportedly said at the meeting, which ended around 3am, that there was need to look deeply into the operation of the general aviation sector, which involves private and chartered aircraft.

Part of the measures, it was learnt, would include imposing heavy sanctions on any non-compliance with standard safety procedure.

A source at the meeting said the new arrangement would also forbid pilots of private and chartered jets from flying above the normal flying hours to avoid any accident occasioned by fatigue.

“So, nothing will be taken for granted in the general aviation sector now,” the source said.

The recent Naval Augusta crash in Bayelsa State, it was learnt, brought the issue to the front burner.

The development also followed the increasing number of private jets and chartered aircraft, including helicopters in the nation’s airspace.

Although the crash in Bayelsa involved a military aircraft, which Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority and the Ministry of Aviation had no regulatory power over, the civil aviation authorities saw the crash as a wakeup call and the need to focus more attention on the operations and activities of lighter aircraft, sources close to the ministry said.

It was also gathered that the recent private aircraft crash involving the Governor of Taraba State, Mr. Danbaba Suntai, made development pertinent.

Consequently, it was learnt that government had decided that the ministry and the NCAA would henceforth pay more attention to the activities of airstrips, heliports, helipads, airports, private jets and chartered aircraft.

The ministry oversees airstrips while the NCAA oversees aircraft.

“Most of the people that own private jets in Nigeria are big people who ordinarily may not want to obey rules at times. But the minister said that the recent happening in the military circle was also a wakeup call for the civil aviation as well.

“It now means that the Ministry of Aviation and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority will be paying more attention to the operators of private and chartered jets/ helicopters in the country.”

The source added that the development could lead to a situation where some airstrips, helipads and helidecks would be re-examined or audited.

The general aviation sector in Nigeria has witnessed tremendous growth in recent years and stakeholders are happy that the sub-sector is attracting more foreign and local investors.

But an aviation industry analyst, Mr. Olumide and Ohunayo, said the latest development was not expected to retard this growth, rather it should strengthen it.

No fuel price hike in 2013, says NNPC

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation on Sunday gave the assurance that the Federal Government would not hike the price of fuel in 2013.
There have been fears that the prolonged scarcity of fuel nationwide might lead to a price increase.
The assurance was given by the NNPC Acting Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Fidel Pepple, in a statement.
The statement also said it had restored the Ije-ododo pipeline in Lagos.
A portion of the pipeline exploded while being vandalised two weeks ago, while the vandals fled.
The Ije-ododo incident occurred some months after another set of vandals destroyed a portion of the strategic System 2-B pipeline supplying petroleum products to the South-West and Ilorin.
NNPC said it had ensured the full and comprehensive restoration of the Ije-ododo pipeline to normalcy.
The corporation said the pumping of premium motor spirit had resumed in earnest to depots and tank farms in the System 2-B, spanning from Atlas-Cove to Ilorin.
Pepple gave the assurance that with the restoration of the Ije-ododo pipeline and the NNPC System 2-b pipeline, normalcy had been restored in the supply and distribution of petroleum products across the length and breadth of the country.
“I can affirm to you that our engineers from the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company Limited have finally fixed the Ije-Ododo pipeline that was ruptured last Monday by activities of pipeline vandals.
“Going forward, the good news for Nigerians is that we have resumed pumping of petroleum products through the pipeline and system 2b is equally working after the restoration of the pipeline,” Pepple said.
He stated that the recent fuel queues were basically due to the activities of pipeline vandals and the closure of a number of filling stations due to the Christmas holidays and not shortage of petroleum products.
The NNPC spokesman said the corporation has product sufficiency that can sustain the country for more than a month.
He stressed that concerted efforts by the to wet every part of the country with petrol to ease the movement of people as they travel from one place to the other before and after the New Year, is continuous and will be sustained.
Mr. Pepple called on Marketers to avoid the nefarious diversion of petroleum products to black marketers adding that stringent punitive actions would be meted out to those found wanting. He enjoined marketers of petroleum products to team up with the NNPC to ensure sustained supply and distribution of petroleum products into the New Year.
He also enjoined motorists to desist from panic buying stressing that there is no truth in the on-going rumours that there will be an increase in the pump price of fuel in January 2013, saying that the Federal Government has made budgetary provision for fuel subsidy in the 2013 budget which was recently passed by the National Assembly.