The report that these are not the best of times for many Nigerians going by the rising costs of goods and services, just as local airlines, yesterday, raised the alarm over a massive spike in price of aviation fuel currently selling at N400/litre in some airports nationwide across the country is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Thursday.
The Guardian reports that these are not the best of times for many Nigerians going by the rising costs of goods and services, just as local airlines, yesterday, raised the alarm over a massive spike in price of aviation fuel currently selling at N400/litre in some airports nationwide across the country.
The operators said the ‘unbearable’ spike has made efficient air transport and affordable airfares unsustainable without either government’s intervention or upward review in ticket prices.
If the trend continues, air travellers may have to pay more on the already expensive air ticket regime in the country.
Aviation fuel, also known as Jet A1 accounts for between 30 to 40 per cent of operational costs in aviation. Being a deregulated product that is exclusively controlled by suppliers, the price has consistently been fluctuating along with Naira to Dollar exchange rate.
The Guardian learnt that the fuel, which costs about N340/litre in December, has risen to N400 in the South and as much as N450/litre in some parts of the North, creating scarcity at the ramp and attendant flight delays in the last one week.
The Chairman of United Nigeria Airline, Dr. Obiora Okonkwo, yesterday, said it was regrettable that the fuel that sold for N190/litre exactly a year ago when the airline began operations had increased more than 100 per cent.
The newspaper says that there are strong indications that telecommunications firm, MTN, has paid for the Fifth-Generation (5G) network license in Nigeria, ahead of the February 24 deadline given to winners of the 3.5GHz spectrum auction.
MTN and Mafab Communications emerged winners of the two lots of 100MHz of the 3.5GHz spectrum to be deployed for 5G network in Nigeria at the auction process organised on December 13, 2021, by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in conjunction with the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, in Abuja.
The two firms were expected to pay $273.6 million before the deadline. MTN as the highest bidder paid an additional $15,900,000 to pick the first lot in the 3500MHz-3600MHz to emerge as the first preferred bid winner.
Though NCC is yet to announce officially, an industry source close to the commission, who is monitoring the situation of things told The Guardian yesterday that MTN made the payment two weeks ago.
This was later confirmed by an official of the telco. Speaking anonymously, she said, “MTN has cleared the 5G bill, the regulator should announce when it deems it ready.”
The Punch reports that the Consumers of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, are allegedly arresting workers and owners of filling stations over the sale of adulterated products that have reportedly affected their vehicles’ engines.
It was also learnt that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited might face litigation, especially if owners of filling stations find it difficult to manage the pressure from petrol users.
This came as a major oil marketer explained that methanol was prohibited in petrol imported into Nigeria, contradicting the position of the Federal Government on the acceptability of methanol in the PMS.
Also, the NNPC, through its spokesperson, Garba-Deen Muhammad, stated on Wednesday that the oil firm had released products to help reduce the queues seen in Abuja and other parts of the country.
Speaking on the attacks on filling stations by motorists, the President, Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, Billy Gillis-Harry, said the situation grew worse on Wednesday.
He said, “There are customers who have problems with the products they bought and are suing our retail outlet owners. They are already arresting retail outlet owners and not the NNPC, but obviously, it will still get to them (NNPC) if we cannot resolve it.
The Sun says that the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has condemned increasing incursion of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) into the trade policy space, saying it is an aberration in in the country’s economic management system.
The centre, which noted with concern the recent introduction of e-evaluator and e-invoicing by the apex bank, purportedly to curb foreign exchange malpractices, said issues of import valuation and classification are statutory functions of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) with the Finance Ministry as the supervising organ.
CPPE Chief Executive Officer, Dr Muda Yusuf, who called for scrapping of the scheme, said it would only worsen an already bad international trade transaction process.
He posited that the decision of CBN to undertake valuation and product price benchmarking of imports and exports is a duplication of the statutory responsibility of the NCS.
He said it would create an additional regulatory compliance burden and costs for the business community.
Citing a statement by the Director General of the World Trade Organisation, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala that the high trade cost in Nigeria was an equivalent of 306 per cent tariff, which is above the African average, Yusuf said the assertion summarised the harrowing experience of Nigerian investors in the international trade process.
ThisDay reports that the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) yesterday alleged that the N621 billion for the rehabilitation of 21 critical road infrastructure in the country had been hijacked by politicians and persons in the concerned ministry.
Speaking during a press briefing in Abuja yesterday, National Chairman of the PTD, Mr Salmon Oladiti, told journalists that some persons were bent on frustrating the repairs programme as agreed by the stakeholders.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had committed to spend the amount on road rehabilitation, following the suspension of the planned strike by the organisation.
The National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), the parent body, at the time, had threatened that the petroleum tanker drivers would commence a strike over the deplorable state of the nation’s highways, among other issues.
However, the planned strike was later suspended after the union and the management of the NNPC reached an understanding, but with a caveat that it would not hesitate to embark on the strike without any notice if the understanding reached was not fully implemented within the timeframe.
The NNPC is financing the programme through the Road Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme in collaboration with the federal ministry of works and housing and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
GIK/APA