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Nigeria Airways’ resurrects as ‘Nigeria Air.’ What lessons 15 years after?

Emerging reports say that the Nigerian government on Wednesday in London unveiled a new national airline to be known as Nigeria Air

Published

6 years ago

July 18, 2018

Africa News Watch

Emerging reports say that the Nigerian government on Wednesday in London unveiled a new national airline to be known as Nigeria Air.

The ceremony comes 15 years after the former Nigeria Airways went moribund and literally got buried. The official unveiling of name and logo of the country’s new flag carrier, came in the absence of any fleet for the airline.

Named Nigeria Air, Presidency officials say that the new enterprise “will bring Nigeria closer to the world.”

The Wednesday ceremony held at the Farnborough International Public Airshow in London. Speaking at the event, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, said the federal government would not interfere in the management of the business.

“It is a business, not a social service. Government will not be involved in running it or deciding who runs it. The investors will have full responsibility for this,” he said.

Sirika, in a tweet via his official Twitter handle, Tuesday, said he had negotiated Aircraft orders with Airbus of Farnborough and planned to meet with Boeing and other suppliers.

“We intend to get a 30 aircraft market in five years. But we will begin with five aircraft on the day of launch,” he said.

The Nigerian government appears eager to learn from the mistakes of the past. Alluding to government plans to stay away from directly managing the business, the Director General of Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Chidi Izuwah, said:

“Though, you need that initial government financial to make it take off, but what is important is that the national carrier will be entirely private sector controlled.

“There will be zero government interference. But if that happens, it invalidates the certificate (Outline Business Case Certificate of Compliance for the establishment of the airline) and the entire process.”

Attempts to resuscitate Nigeria Airways led to a joint venture between Nigerian investors and Richard Branson’s Virgin Group but this crashed in 2012 due largely to what was considered undue government interference and refusal to stay within the letters and spirit of the contract.

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IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

6 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following the completion of a recent visit to Egypt, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its mission had achieved significant strides in policy talks aimed at concluding the fourth review of the IMF loan program.

The review is the fourth in Egypt’s most recent 46-month IMF loan program, which was authorised in 2022 and increased to $8 billion this year following an economic crisis characterised by high inflation and chronic foreign exchange shortages. It may unleash more than $1.2 billion in financing.

Along with reaffirming its commitment to maintain a flexible exchange rate system, the IMF stated that Egypt “has implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability,” including the unification of the currency rate that facilitated imports.

Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Cairo has asked the IMF to modify the targets for the programme not only for this year, but for its full duration, he added without giving more details.

“Discussions will continue over the coming days to finalize agreement on the remaining policies and reforms that could support the completion of the fourth review,” the IMF added in its statement.

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Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.