…Govt in talk with Boeing, others for cheaper aircraft leases

…Why Nigerian airlines are challenge-Keyamo

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo may have rekindled hope for a national airline for Nigeria, saying the country needs a national airline that befits the status of the country as a giant of Africa.

He disclosed that what he inherited as Nigeria Air was not patriotic enough, maintaining that the project remains suspended until he gets a clear directive from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on how to go about it to have a national carrier.

The Minister stated this on Thursday while fielding questions from journalists at the end of the in-house inauguration/induction for the newly appointed chief executive officers and directors of the aviation agencies in Abuja.

There are indications that a new national carrier may emerge that will totally be different from Nigeria Air promoted by a former Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika with totally a different name or with the same name but a different structure.

He said, “It is what I have always said. Nigeria Air remains suspended. It remains suspended and very soon, we will get a clear directive on it from Mr. President on how to go about it to have a national carrier. We need a national carrier that befitted the status of Nigeria. What I met on the ground was not patriotic enough”.

The Minister assured that the 18R runway of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos which had been under repairs for nearly a year would soon be completed, urging airlines to be patient by using the sole runway available for flight operations.

Speaking on the challenges facing the country’s carriers, Keyamo stated that the airlines are challenged by not just a lack of access to loans at a single-digit rate but many other factors such as lack of access to dry-lease at very good terms.

“Our local operators do not have access to aircraft. They are struggling. Most of them do wet leases to meet their local obligations. All over the world, airlines do not on wholesale purchase of aircraft.

“Even the biggest airlines like Emirates, Qatar and British Airways of this world, most of them have access to loans at single digit rate and we are doing 26% interest rate”.

He noted that there is no way the airlines would survive with a Bank interest rate of 26%, explaining that as a government, they have spoken to aircraft giants like Boeing and others to bring in aircraft to the domestic airlines for them to have access to leases at very good terms.

“This is so, so that when we have enough aircraft, there would be competition among the airlines. We can cross that path”, he added.

On the astronomic fares charged by foreign airlines, he said it is so because foreign airlines are complaining about it and were not sure when they would get their money back.

“Most of them open the highest ticket inventory or the most expensive part of the tickets to Nigerian travellers because according to them before now, they did not know whether it would take one year or two years to get their money back. They are raising fares because of the devaluation of their money. They look at the length it takes them to get their money”.

“The government is addressing that issue now. Our airlines do not have enough aircraft to service many of the routes they have been designated under the reciprocal right given to them under the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) to service many routes”.

“If for instance, BA is doing 14 frequencies to Nigeria every week and United Nigeria and Air Peace are doing 14 flights to the UK, prices will crash. Why can’t they do it? It is because they don’t have access to aircraft while BA has access to aeroplanes at a single-digit interest rate”

Femi Adesina, a former spokesperson to former President Muhammadu Buhari has said the political enemies of his principal had sown negative narratives and fed to the Nigerian public to tarnish his image.

Adesina, who stated this in Abuja yesterday at a pre-book media conference heralding the unveiling and public presentation of two significant publications, said the two books would be launched on January 16th.

The first publication, Working with Buhari: Reflections of a Special Adviser, Media and Publicity (2015-2023) is the memoir of Chief Femi Adesina which provides great insights into the life and leadership of the former president.

The second, Muhammadu Buhari: The Nigerian Legacy (2015-2023) is a groundbreaking five-volume historical compendium, edited by Dr. Udu Yakubu. It is an authoritative, comprehensive and most definitive story of the administration of Buhari from 2015 to 2023.

Speaking at the conference, Adesina said the book explores the true narrative of Buhari against the ones created by political foes, noting that the book will help Nigerians to know the real and the true Buhari.

According to him, the two publications will bring President Buhari to Abuja for the first time since he exited office in May 2023.

He also said the event would be chaired by General Yakubu Gowon with President Bola Tinubu as chief guest.

Adesina said “If I had the confidence of my principal for eight years and we worked together seamlessly, not once the president would complain of anything rather he would say thank you.

“There is a certain myth about president Buhari, a narrative that his political enemies had sowed and fed to the Nigerian public. I just felt that the true narrative needed to be taught and that’s why I have written this book.

“That book is not about the hardware of government, economic policy, monetary policy, foreign policy but about the software of governance and the man who headed that government. What made him take certain decisions?

“I believe it will help Nigerians to know who the real and true Muhammadu Buhari is,” he said.

Also speaking, the editor of the second book, Muhammad Buhari; The Nigerian Legacy, Dr. Udu Yakubu said it is a five-volume compendium to produce a comprehensive story of Buhari’s administration.

…says govt won’t borrow beyond ways, means laws

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu, has said that the Federal Government was conscious and strategic never to base the foreign exchange benchmark in the 2024 budget on a spot rate in order to avoid eventualities and uncertainties.

The Minister made this clarification on Thursday in a chat with State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa.

According to him, before arriving at the projected exchange rate of N750 to the dollar in the 2024 budget, which the National Assembly raised to N800, the government considered and viewed critically, the average performance of the naira.

“For budgeting purposes, you don’t use spot rate of anything. Oil prices can go to 120 today, maybe there is a shortage., or maybe there is a collision between two ships that will block a channel. It would be foolish to use that as a reference price. I should take a period of maybe six months to one year and say let me observe this average behaviour. So you don’t use spot prices. So even with the exchange rate is like that,” the Minister noted.

He continued, “Much as we are hoping that it would soon come below, but at the time you are doing the budget you will take a view on average performance. And that’s what we took.

“In fact, we took an average performance of 750 on the executive side and we proposed it to the National Assembly and the National Assembly, in its wisdom, and mind you this is a democracy, and President Tinubu is one who is a lifelong advocate of institutional separation of powers,” Bagudu added.

The minister also said that the President respected the National Assembly in allowing further rise of the exchange rate considering his high respect for institutions and democracy.

“So, he respected democracy that even though it was higher than what he submitted, but the institution that says so, has the authority to say so and even at the time they say 100, because it’s not an official rate it’s tidal because with the deregulated market, you no longer have an official rate, it is much lower than even the way the markets are bidding.,” the minister said.

Bagudu noted that the government was sure that with the measures it had taken, there would soon be a significant increase in the supply of foreign exchange into the economy.

The minister, who also spoke on the level of borrowing to fund the deficit in the 2024 budget, said that the difference between this year’s borrowing and that of 2023 was significant.

“In 2023, the budget anticipated a borrowing of close to N14 trillion. This year’s budget is N9.1 trillion. So we think that is significant. Because it’s 2023 took us to about 6.11% of our GDP as borrowing. This one is 3.8%. So the quantum had decreased,” Bagudu added.

He explained the government within the 2024 fiscal year intended to operate strictly within the dictates of fiscal responsibility law, which provides for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to lend to the government through its Ways and Means window, only 5 per cent of the total budget.

“We will not go outside the law and borrow from ways and means, that are outside the law. So the fiscal responsibility law says, that every one year, the central bank can lend the government up to 5% of its budget for the year.

So if you go out of that, you’re going outside the lawful limit, and that’s what the minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy was very clear we are not going to do. We are not going to resort to borrowing outside the law.

“And secondly, as much as possible, we will even borrow away from the Central Bank because sometimes it’s even cheaper to borrow. So, those are the two elements. So the quantum has decreased, then we will go by the book.

“The President, in his steadfastness has brought a Central Bank governor who will not even allow and we also have determined coordinating minister and I. So, that’s a combination of the two.

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC)/Transparency International in Nigeria has asked President Bola Tinubu to rescind his decision to appoint the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Abel Oluuyiwa Enitan as acting minister.

Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani) Executive Director of CISLAC/Head of Transparency International in Nigeria in a statement yesterday said They “Received with utter disappointment, the appointment of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Abel Olumuyiwa Enitan to run the ministry”

He said “It is not acceptable that Mr Enitan, the accounting officer of the ministry involved in such scandal should be allowed to supervise the ministry.

“This action will compromise the investigation and is an insult to the intelligence of the public, at best. The impression to right-thinking people is that the government is planning a river of the heist and abuse of public trust”

Rafsanjani argued that “By our extant regulations and laws, the Permanent Secretary is the accounting officer who should have been suspended along with the Minister.

“Ministers work on recommendations of civil servants led by the permanent secretary. There is no evidence that the permanent secretary did not participate in the matters being investigated. In any case, the permanent secretary did not object to what happened and should be the subject of investigation.

“We are seriously perturbed that top officers who are connected with approvals and sanctions of financial and procurement process within the ministry like the permanent secretary are yet to be suspended or subjected to thorough investigation till their innocence is proven; instead they are promoted to sensitive positions, where the ongoing investigation could easily be hampered or sabotaged”

Continuing, the CISLAC boss submitted that “The appointment of Enitan to head the ministry will certainly undermine the credibility and respect accorded the current administration.

“We call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to as a matter of urgency rescind his decision to appoint the Permanent Secretary and other persons who should as well be under serious investigation to occupy such a sensitive position, pending the conclusion of the ongoing investigation and scrutiny of the Ministry by anti-corruption agencies.

“We also call on the president to consider persons with integrity, track record and free of corruption background in future appointments to demonstrate the readiness for good governance in Nigeria.

“We further call on Civil Society, media and other well-meaning Nigerians to remain vigilant and reject unjustified or secluded appointments, to ensure inclusive reform that will enhance transparency and accountability in governance”.