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Nigerian airlines cancel more flights as jet fuel scarcity continues

Published

1 year ago

March 10, 2022

Nigerian airlines have continued to cancel flights as scarcity for aviation fuel in the West African country continues to cripple economic activities.

Airlines like Ibom Air could not fly most of their aircraft on Tuesday, March 8, due to fuel scarcity. The airline admitted to the situation and predicted the situation may extend to Wednesday.

This too. And some people are warming up to still APC in Govt beyond 2023. pic.twitter.com/ORsyUEwx3b

— Ome n'uko, 🇳🇬 🇬🇧 (Peter Obi's Image Maker) (@Mazipita) March 10, 2022

Yesterday, six local carriers – Air Peace, Azman Air, United Nigeria Airline, Arik Air, Aero Contractors and Max Air – announced a ‘Spring Alliance’, to mutually support each other’s operations and surpass the expectations of the flying public.

“We have encountered a situation today where aviation fuel is scarce and therefore unavailable at almost all our flight destinations. This has significantly impacted our flight schedule today (Tuesday) and may do the same tomorrow (Wednesday).

“At this time, we have no indication when the issue will be resolved, however, we are working with our fellow airlines and fuel suppliers to find a solution.” the airline said.

Nigeria imports almost all its jet fuel, which has nearly doubled to as high as 625 naira ($1.50) per liter since December, Arik Air said.

Late last month, Air Peace informed passengers that most of their flights were delayed due to scarcity. The airline said their Lagos to Port Harcourt flight for 14:30 on February 15 was delayed due to lack of fuel and the Port Harcourt to Abuja flight for 16:25 and Abuja to Lagos for 16:25 were also affected.

Dana Air also found itself in the same situation last week where most of their flights were cancelled due to scarcity of fuel.

Despite being Africa’s largest oil producer, Nigeria imports almost all its jet fuel.

Motorists and residents have also been suffering from severe fuel shortages and hike in price at the pumps for weeks.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, global oil prices have hit a 14-year peak.

VenturesNow

Kenya: Parliament approves appointment of Kamau Thugge as central bank governor

Published

6 hours ago

June 7, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

Months after throwing open the position for the country’s top banker, Kenya’s parliament has approved the appointment of Kamau Thugge as the country’s central bank governor.

The National Assembly on Wednesday approved the
appointment of economist and senior civil servant who was nominated by President William Ruto as the next apex bank chief.

Thugge, who served as principal secretary in the finance ministry until mid-2018, was nominated after serving as one of the president’s senior economic advisers since late last year.

He shook off competition from others shortlisted candidates like Adan Mohamed, who served in the cabinet from 2013-2022, with four others also interviewed for the role.

The new central bank governor will be faced with the immediate pressure of stabilizing the country’s monetary policy as the East African giant currently faces a shortage of funds amidst rising public debt.

Despite the odds, the World Bank in a report earlier today expects growth to edge up to 5.0% in 2023, underpinned by a recovery in agriculture.

VenturesNow

Ghana presents ‘working proposal’ for debt restructuring— IMF sources

Published

6 hours ago

June 7, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

West African country, Ghana has made a major move at resolving its debt crisis as the country has presented debt restructuring proposal to its creditors.

According to sources quoted by Reuters, a “working proposal” has been submitted to help the country escape its worst economic crisis in a generation.

One of the sources revealed that the proposal was a first attempt to engage the official creditor committee after its formation in May. It should be recalled that the Paris Club last month announced that official sector of creditors of Ghana had formed a committee co-chaired by China and France for debt restructuring talks.

The plan is to end restructuring of domestic debt before turning to negotiations with its official bilateral creditors and international bondholders, a government official said.

Ghana is one of several cash-strapped countries facing unprecedented delays in getting bailouts as China, its biggest bilateral creditor with about $1.7 billion of debt and Western economies disagree over how debt relief should be structured.

The first formal review of the programme will hold in the coming months as an IMF team will visit Ghana between 8th and 15th of June.