House to take decisive action on Aviation fuel crisis

House to take decisive action on Aviation fuel crisis

Abuja – The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Aviation Honourable Nnolim Nnaji has disclosed that the Speaker of l the House of Representatives, Right Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila was greatly disturbed by the reoccurring aviation fuel crisis in the country.

According to him, ” the House of Representatives consequently plans to take a far reaching decisions on the matter as soon as possible to ensure that the problem is permanently rested.”

The Chairman however appealed to the Airline Operators of Nigeria, (AON) to rescind action on its planned shutdown of operations due to the escalating cost of aviation fuel, Jet-A1

Honourable Nnaji who regretted that despite the last intervention of the leadership of the House of Representatives, the problem remained unabated assured the airlines that his Committee and indeed the House leadership were not sleeping over their plight.

The Aviation Committee Chairman disclosed that the Speaker had already planned a meeting of the stakeholders including relevant committees in the house .

Nnaji who praised the operators for their patriotism further urged them not to ground their operations stressing, that, ” such will inflict more pains on our already distressed economy”.

He also promised them that, “the National Assembly is determined to ensure that the aviation fuel crisis is urgently resolved because air transportation has become the safest mode of travel.

“It is equally the catalyst of economic development so we cannot afford to entertain any disruptions in the sector especially now that election process is ongoing “.

The operators had on Friday, May 6, 2022 issued a notice of shutting down their operations over the hike in aviation fuel which has now risen to N700 a litre thereby shooting their costs of operationsto 95 percent..

This was contained in a letter signed by the AON President, Abdulmunaf Yunusa Sarina.

The leadership of the House of Representatives had at the instance of a motion sponsored by the Aviation Committee Chairman, Honourable Nnaji intervened on the same issue in March, 2022 during which far reaching decisions were taken among the stakeholders.

American Billionaire Todd Boehly confirm agreement to acquire Chelsea  

American billionaire Todd Boehly, a part-owner of baseball club LA Dodgers, has signed an agreement to buy Chelsea from Roman Abramovich for £4.25 billion.

Backed by investment firm Clearlake Capital and fellow Dodgers owner Mark Walter, Boehly was considered the preferred bidder by Raine Group – the US bank overseeing the sale of the Blues – despite heavy competition from British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

From Mail Online Sport, A statement from the Blues read: “Chelsea Football Club can confirm that terms have been agreed for a new ownership group, led by Todd Boehly, Clearlake Capital, Mark Walter and Hansjoerg Wyss, to acquire the Club.

“Of the total investment being made, £2.5bn will be applied to purchase the shares in the Club and such proceeds will be deposited into a frozen UK bank account with the intention to donate 100 per cent to charitable causes as confirmed by Roman Abramovich. UK Government approval will be required for the proceeds to be transferred from the frozen UK bank account.

“In addition, the proposed new owners will commit £1.75bn in further investment for the benefit of the Club. This includes investments in Stamford Bridge, the Academy, the Women’s Team and Kingsmeadow and continued funding for the Chelsea Foundation.

“The sale is expected to complete in late May subject to all necessary regulatory approvals. More details will be provided at that time.”

The takeover process seemed to have hit an impasse after Abramovich – who was sanctioned by the UK Government following his alleged involvement in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – reportedly asked for his £1.5 billion debt to be repaid.

However, Chelsea rebuffed those reports as entirely false, stating that the Russian oligarch’s objective was encouraging the bidders to invest in the club.

The Blues manager Thomas Tuchel recently claimed that the takeover saga has been affecting their performances on the pitch. However, with new ownership set to take the helm, the defending European Champions will look to turn their fortunes around.

AMCON In Dilemma Over ARIK’s Insolvency

AMCON In Dilemma Over ARIK’s Insolvency

Abuja – The Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria, (AMCON) is currently overwhelmed in debt and enormous operational difficulties putting it in dilemma over what to do with the current state of Arik Air Limited which it acquired five years ago.
AMCON took over the airline in February 2017 and appointed Kamilu Omokide as its Receiver Manager with the mandate to turn around the fortunes of the ailing Africa’s biggest private carrier within a short period of time.
Arik Air which had up to thirty serviceable aircraft with about three thousand workforce at its peak was down to ten airplanes as at December 2017 and was unable to operate flights due to mounting debts both local and foreign.
The debt profile at the time of the AMCON acquisition was put at N300 billion comprising of foreign and local debts with a backlog of unpaid staff salaries and aviation statutory charges. Total foreign debts as reported totaled $51 million with that of Lufthansa Airline put at $47 million.
The mandate of the Receiver Manager was to reposition the airline and put it on the part of recovery within a period of time but after more than 5 years down the line,, Arik rather than improve , has further nose dived from the ten aircraft AMCON inherited in 2017 to three epileptic aircraft and a downsized unmotivated workforce of six hundred.
More precarious is the inability of AMCON to address the mounting debt profile it inherited at take over of Arik though it was able to pay recurrent debts according to the submissions of the Receiver Manager, Mr Omokide during a meeting with the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation headed by Honourable Nnolim Nnaji early this year.

The committee had summoned AMCON, the Receiver Manager, heads of aviation agencies and the unions based on petitions by Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals, (ANAP) and the Nigerian union of pensioners, (NUP) and ANAP had petitioned the committee to prevail on the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, (NCAA) not to issue air operator’s certificate, (AOC) to Nigeria Eagle Airline being floated by AMCON based on the mountain of debts owed the Aviationa agencies.
AMCON at the meeting claimed that the debts Arik owed both Aviation agencies and other creditors would be classified as bad debts and would not be paid but the union countered the Receiver Manager who made the proposition on behalf of AMCON on the ground that the majority of the debts owed the agencies were statutory taxes which include ticket sales task, (TST) and passenger service charge, ( PSC) which Arik collected on behalf of the agencies from travelers.

The union equally stressed that Arik also owed separately, billions of naira to the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency, (NAMA) for navigational and communication services provided to its flights and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, (FAAN) for landing parking charges as well as other sundry charges which included office rents across its airports.
Experts also believed that the planned Nigeria Eagle Airline was dead on arrival as both local and foreign creditors would have slammed it out of existence with several litigations to recover their money so long as Arik aircraft and and assets were to be inherited by the Nigeria Eagle to serve as AMCON equity to the new airline.
The Receiver Manager of Arik, Mr Omokide had tried to convince the committee on aviation that the floating of Nigeria Eagle was a nondestructive exit plan considered better than outright liquidation since his job as Receiver Manager was not supposed to last this long.
Aviation experts suggest that the best option would be to outrightly liquidate the airline if the The Eagle Airline would not inherit the liabilities of Arik after acquisition of its assets because the creditors would never allow it.
They opined that if the Nigeria Eagle was taking over the assets of Arik, it should not ignore the liabilities and advised AMCON to outrightly liquidate Arik to save it from foreseeable embarrassments that would follow in form of multitude of litigations from aggrieved creditors.
Recently, the AMCON announced the additional debt overhang of over $50 million on the Eagle Airline due to failure of the NCAA to issue it with air operator’s certificate, (AOC) so in other to save AMCON further indebtedness experts said it would be advisable to immediately liquidate Arik.

Arsenal confirm new deals for Mikel Arteta and Jonas Eidevall

Arsenal have confirmed that Mikel Arteta has signed a new contract with the club, keeping him in north London until 2025.

A former Arsenal capatian, Arteta joined the club as manager in December 2019, winning the FA Cup in his first season. The Gunners are currently fourth in the Premier League as they look to end a five-year wait for Champions League football.

A new deal has also been signed by women’s team boss Jonas Eidevall, who has extended until 2024.

“I’m excited, grateful and really, really happy today,” Arteta told the club’s official website.

“When I spoke to Josh [Kroenke] he could see the club at the same point and he wanted to take the club the way I wanted to do it. So everything that he’s said, and that Stan [Kroenke] has said when I’ve been together with both of them, they’ve always delivered.

Mourinho in Tears’ As Roma Reach Conference League Final

It was an unforgettable night for AS Roma Coach Jose Mourinho as he was reduced to uncontrollable tears as he guided the Italian giants to the UEFA Europa Conference League finals on Thursday evening. 
The self-acclaimed ‘Special One’ could not hide his emotions as Roma booked their tickets to the newly introduced European competition, UEFA Conference League.
In a video posted on Twitter, sighted by Sports Brief, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid coach is seen pacing up and down as the game drew to its closure before eventually embracing his technical staff in an emotional scene. 

Ghana Target Knauff Helps Frankfurt Reach First European Final in Forty Two years 

Ghana Football Federation is doing everything possible to bring their foreign born citizens to represent them at the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.
German-born Ghanaian forward Ansgar Knauff who provided an assist as Frankfurt recorded a 1-0 victory over West Ham Unitedin their UEFA Europa League clash on Thursday is one of the players sought after by GFF.
Knauff was influential for Oliver Glasner’s side as he gave control of the game in attacking areas and rarely looked under pressure on the ball. 
The winger set up Rafael Borre, who converted from 10 yards out with a tidy finish.
This is the first time Eintracht Frankfurt have reached the final in a European Cup competition since in 1980. 

Frankfurt will lock horns against Scottish giants Glasgow Rangers in the final on May 18 in Seville, Spain. 

Murray withdraws from match against Djokovic at Madrid Open due to illness

Andy Murray has pulled out of his match against Novak Djokovic at the Madrid Open because of illness.

The Briton was scheduled to play in the third round of the event on Thursday.

Murray beat 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem in the first round of the tournament before earning a win over Canada’s Denis Shapovalov.

According to BBC Sport The 34-year-old Scot had planned to skip the clay-court season but reversed his decision last month when accepting a wildcard for the Spanish tournament.

Murray, who is ranked 78 in the world, had cited the last-16 match against Djokovic as “a fantastic opportunity to play against him again on a big court in a huge tournament”.

The pair have known each other since they were children and have faced each other 36 times in their professional careers.

Real Madrid to face Liverpool at the UEFA Finals after their Heroics against Manchester City

The teams for the Champions League Finals have been decided.Liverpool will face Real Madrid on the 28th of May after they dramatically knocked out Manchester City 6-5 on aggregate. 

Real Madrid set up a rematch of the 2018 Champions League final against Liverpool, where the La Liga side emerged victorious.

Pep Guardiola’s men took the lead in Spain and looked set for their second straight European final. 

However, Real Madrid bounced back with Rodrigo scoring 2 late goals to send the game to extra time. 

Karim Benzema scored a penalty, sending his side to Paris. 

Jurgen Klopp and his men will be seeking revenge, after seeing their star man getting injured early on and a goalkeeping error costing them the trophy in 2018.

2023: Nobody will be allowed to rig elections in Benue – Ortom

2023: Nobody will be allowed to rig elections in Benue – Ortom

Makurdi – Ahead of the 2023 general elections, Benue State Governor, Dr. Samuel Ortom, has warned that any attempt by anyone or group to rig elections in the state will be met with stiff resistance.

The Governor who stated this at the expanded caucus of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in the state which held at the Benue People’s House, Makurdi, Tuesday, May 3rd, 2022 also reiterated his commitment to free, fair and credible primary elections.

He said the recently held council elections in the state where the PDP won all the 23 chairmanship slots and 276 councillors in the state was a testimony of the people’s appreciation of the PDP administration in the state.

On the forthcoming PDP primaries, Governor Ortom said, “We will not tolerate anyone who will want to disrupt the primary elections. I am going to be personally involved. My cabinet members will be involved in the process too.”

He warned that “any member of my cabinet that will go there (primaries) and do any form of shortchanging, will be sacked the same day”.

Ortom used the occasion to congratulate the winners for various positions at the just concluded local government elections in the State, stressing that “I participated. I voted. It was very smooth, free and fair,” he added.

On his part, the State Chairman of PDP, Sir John Ngbede, said the PDP Ward Congress of Saturday, 30th April, 2022 was hugely successful, except for a pocket of complaints from a few LGAs which he said would be addressed by the appeal committee.

Ngbede warned against use of thugs to cause mayhem in the forthcoming party primaries, saying anyone caught with such act would be handed over to the security agencies for prosecution, “no matter the status of the individual”.

2023: Governor Sule Declares For Second Term, Picks Nomination, Expression Of Interest Forms

2023: Governor Sule Declares For Second Term, Picks Nomination, Expression Of Interest Forms

…says his development initiatives will earn him another victory

Lafia – Nasarawa State Governor, Engineer Abdullahi Sule, has declared his intention to seek re-election for a second term come 2023, stressing that the development initiatives of his administration will earn him another victory at the polls.

Engineer Sule made the declaration shortly after being presented with both the nomination and expression of interest forms, purchased on his behalf, by members bof the Engineer A A Sule Amalgamated Support Groups, at a ceremony at the Lafia Square, on Tuesday.

The Governor, who barely returned from Saudi Arabia to observe the Eid-el fitr celebration marking the end of the Ramadan fast, apologized to prominent and critical stakeholders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, for the impromptu declaration which was supposed to have been a personal event but turned out to be a formal declaration to seek re-election.

Engineer Sule specifically, apologized to the first executive governor of the state and now National Chairman of the APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, his immediate predecessor, Senator Umaru Tanko Al-makura, as well as all critical stakeholders of the party, who were not present at his declaration.

While describing the event as significant for him, especially that ordinary people came together to raised the N50m to purchase the forms on his behalf, the Governor however lamented the demise of one of the party’s stalwarts, the late Bala Tafida, who died earlier morning on Tuesday.

He pointed out that, since people who are barely making a living could come together and raise funds to buy both the nomination and expression of interest forms on his behalf, he can’t let them down and as such, has accepted to seek re-election.

“With that in mind therefore, I, Engineer Abdullahi A Sule, Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Fellow of the Nigerian Institutional of Mechanical Engineers, member of COREN, member of the Society of American Engineers, in view of this support, I want to say specifically, that I accept these forms and I therefore declare to contest for re-election for 2023,” he stated.

The Governor was emphatic that, the development initiatives of his administration, will earn him another victory come 2023.

“Our work is enough to deter any opposition. If anybody said we did not work for the state, such a person should be reminded that Engineer Sule did not hold any government position in his life until he was elected governor.

“However, some people held various government positions for over 13 years and even the road leading to their villages was constructed by us,” he said.

Engineer Sule said he is ready to face the opposition ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Earlier, in a goodwill message, state Deputy Governor, Dr Emmanuel Akabe, said a group of organisations and individuals, approached him while the Governor was away in Saudi Arabia for the Lesser Hajj, to inform him of their decision to obtain the nomination and expression of interest forms on behalf of the Governor.

“They know you can do it yourself, they know you have the capacity but they want to prove to you that they are solidly behind you,” the Deputy Governor said.

According to the Deputy Governor, even though Engineer Sule didn’t make a pronouncement to seek another term in office, the people wanted to show that they are happy with his leadership style.

“The majority of the people are happy with you and have come together, to say whether you like it or not, they want you to continue in office beyond 2023.
” It’s not an option for you to say you want or you don’t want. They said wether you want it or not, they want and you must and you should,” Dr Akabe stated.

On his part, state Chairman of the APC, Hon John Mamman, said the Governor’s foray in the area of education, agriculture, investment and his thrust to industrialise Nasarawa State, as well as his focus and vision to improve on the wellbeing of the entire state, are sufficient to guarantee Engineer Sule another term in office.

While calling on the Governor to accept the forms and declare his intention to re-contest come 2023, Hon Mamman assured the Governor of the party’s total support.

Presenting the forms earlier, Hon Murtala Abubakar, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Governor on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), who stood on behalf of the Engineer A A Sule Amalgamated Support Groups, said members of the group recognised the need to contribute in their small ways, to enable the Governor consolidate on his vision for the state beyond 2023.

Speakers from across the three senatorial zones of the state namely Senator John Danboyi for Nasarawa North, Hon David Ayewa, for Nasarawa South and Hon Baba Shehu, Keffi Local Government Chairman, for Nasarawa West, all threw their support behind the second term aspirations of the Governor.

Hajiya Ramatu Dalhatu, speaking on behalf of women in the state, sang songs of joy to herald the support of women across the state.