Business
FG announces plans to support Nigerian airlines in international operations
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has revealed the Nigerian government’s commitment to supporting airlines in the country in securing long-term aircraft leases at competitive rates, in line with global industry standards.
The Minister emphasized that the government is dedicated to assisting domestic airlines in their international endeavors and will respond to any challenges that hinder their operations on any route.
The Minister revealed this information in an interview he participated in at the inaugural event for the Air Peace Lagos-London flight over the weekend.
He mentioned that enabling Nigerian airlines to easily access long-term leasing and reducing the cost of aircraft insurance were critical performance measures for his Ministry. These KPIs aim to assist domestic airlines and prevent the exploitation of Nigerian travelers by foreign carriers.
“This is very significant, because it is has been very difficult for our local operators to service international routes and to take advantage of our Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASAs), which give reciprocal rights to our local airlines,” he said.
He detailed that the formation of BASAs is grounded on the concept of mutual benefit, where airlines from one country are permitted to operate flights to another country, while reciprocally allowing airlines from the latter country to do the same, emphasizing that the flight arrangements are mutually agreed upon within the BASA.
“What BASAs normally say is that when you have 14 slots into my country, they also give you 14 slots into their country. But there is politics of BASAs also because after giving you the 14 slots into their country, in most cases they play politics with it in such a way that they frustrate your own airlines from being able to take advantage of that.
“But beyond that too, our local operators are handicapped because they don’t have access to aircraft that international airlines have on the same terms. For example, the terms upon which they lease these aircraft. There is no airline in the world that buy their fleet 100 percent. It is not possible.
“Statistics says that out of a 100 aircraft flying around the world, about 70 percent of those aircraft are on dry lease from leasing companies and from aircraft manufacturers. So, why can’t we take advantage of these lease arrangements to empower our local operators. And that is the key to also servicing these international routes because you cannot compete with someone who has access to aircraft on better terms than you,” he said.
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JAPANESE YEN (JPN) ₦8.50
CHINESE YUAN (CNY) ₦200.58
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Black Market Rates
US Dollar (USD) Buy ₦1,390 Sell ₦1,398
Great British Pound (GBP)Buy ₦1,580 Sell ₦1, 600
EURO (EUR) Buy ₦1, 590 Sell ₦1, 610
Canadian Dollar (CAD) Buy ₦1, 000 Sell ₦1, 100
South African Rand (ZAR)Buy ₦75 Sell ₦90
UAE Dirham Buy ₦350 Sell ₦370
Chinese Yuan Buy ₦180 Sell ₦200
Ghana Cedi (GHS) Buy ₦100 Sell ₦115
West African CFA Buy ₦2,450 Sell ₦2550
Central African CFA Buy ₦2,320 Sell 2,400
Australian Dollar Buy ₦800 Sell ₦900
Source: CBN/ Aboki Forex
Business
Dangote Refinery increases processing capacity to 700,000 bpd
Speaking on the development, Vice President of oil and gas at Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, said that the refinery plans to expand its processing capacity to 1.4 million bpd within the next 30 months.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals has increased its crude oil processing capacity to 700,000 barrels per day (bpd), surpassing its official nameplate capacity of 650,000 bpd.
This was disclosed today in a statement issued by the Dangote Group’s Head of Corporate Communications, Anthony Chiejina.
Chiejina emphasised that the increased capacity highlights the refinery’s strong engineering design and operational efficiency.
Speaking on the development, Vice President of oil and gas at Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, said that the refinery plans to expand its processing capacity to 1.4 million bpd within the next 30 months.
According to him, the goal is to position the facility among the largest refineries in the world.
Edwin noted that the expansion would enhance Nigeria’s energy security, eliminate dependence on imported petroleum products, and strengthen the country’s position as a major exporter of refined products.
Business
NEPZA to go live on RevOP, FTe-R
Oyedele added that a total of 31 MDAs had already gone live on the platform and 21 more agencies are to be captured next, as the government is working assiduously to achieve 100 percent financial probity before the end of the year.
Photo: Minister of Finance, Taiwo Oyedele
The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) and 20 other Federal ministries and agencies (MDAs) have made a firm commitment to integrate and adopt the Revenue Optimisation and Assurance Platform (RevOP) and the Federal Treasury e-Receipt (FTe-R) to improve overall transparency in Federal Government financial operations.
RevOP is a digital, technology-driven system used to track, collect, reconcile, and protect financial revenues. These platforms are typically designed to identify revenue leakages, prevent fraud, automate billing, and ensure that every transaction is visible and traceable in real time.
This revelation came after a meeting between the Minister of Finance and the Chief Executive Officers of 21 affected agencies in Abuja on Tuesday.
The new RevOP was approved by the Federal Executive Council to eliminate day-to-day financial fraud and to advance the financial transparency initiative of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
The Minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Muhammed Sanusi, reminded the CEOs that the new revenue monitoring platform was created by the government to comprehensively record its revenue and expenses.
Oyedele added that a total of 31 MDAs had already gone live on the platform and 21 more agencies are to be captured next, as the government is working assiduously to achieve 100 percent financial probity before the end of the year.
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