The report that Airline Operators of Nigeria, the umbrella body for domestic airlines, on Sunday cancelled its decision to halt flight services across the country beginning on Monday dominates the headlines of Nigerian newspapers on Monday.
The Punch reports that Airline Operators of Nigeria, the umbrella body for domestic airlines, on Sunday cancelled its decision to halt flight services across the country beginning today (Monday).
But before the AON announced the cancellation of its earlier decision, five of its members had already declared that they would not join in the plan to suspend flights from Monday. They include Aero, Arik Air, Dana Air, Ibom Air, and Green Africa Airlines.
This came as the Federal Government revealed on Sunday that it had been supporting the AON and provided a bailout of N4bn to domestic airlines during the COVID-19 pandemic despite the past and present state of indebtedness by the carriers to government agencies.
Also, members of the House of Representatives on Sunday stated that they would meet with airline operators on Monday following concerns by the carriers as regards the astronomical jump in the price of aviation fuel from N190/litre to N700/litre.
On the latest decision by the airlines, the AON President, Abdulmunaf Sarina, in a statement issued on Sunday, said, “The AON wishes to inform the general public that further to numerous calls from the highest echelons in government with promises to urgently intervene in the crises being faced by airlines due to the astronomic and continuously rising cost of JetA1, that the AON has acceded to requests to withdraw the action for the time being while we allow for a fresh round of dialogue with the government in the hope of reaching an amicable solution.
“We have also reached this decision with the highest consideration for our esteemed customers who have been faced with uncertainty over the last few days and to enable them to have access to travel to their various destinations for the time being during the period of discussions with relevant authorities.
“In view of the above and in the interest of national economy and security considerations, AON hereby wishes to notify the general public that the earlier announced shutdown of operations on May 9, 2022, is hereby suspended in good fate pending the outcome of hopefully fruitful engagement with government.”
The newspaper says that President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday, in Abuja, said the North-West must not be allowed to relapse into the days when bandits roamed freely and unleashed mayhem on the people.
This was as he commended the military for the continued onslaught on terrorist elements in the region, especially Zamfara State, which had been a hotbed of criminal activities.
He also urged the armed forces not to show any letup as they continued to achieve positive outcomes based on their current operational trajectory in the North-West.
According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the president noted that there appears to be relative calm in Zamfara State with situations returning to normal in most parts and the rural communities ready to lead their lives normally again.
There had been several security breaches as bandits attacked Damri, Sabongarin Damri, and Kalahe villages in Bakura Local Government Area, and lately, Maradun.
He directed that the “momentum that has been developed must be sustained to bring closure to the activities of these murderers.
The Guardian reports that the second round of the warning was declared by Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASSU) after a meeting of the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) on March 14, at its University of Abuja secretariat.
Sources say the union’s national leadership will make its decision public today.
According to reports, NEC had previously authorised the national leadership to direct members to go on indefinite strike if no tangible results were achieved during the eight-week warning strike.
Many undergraduates are anxiously waiting for a review of the strike.
The Guardian gathered that two key issues that must be resolved before the union suspends its action are: renegotiation of the 2009 Federal Government-ASUU agreement bordering on the working conditions of Nigerian academics and deployment of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).
While ASUU was into the second round of its warning strike, other staff unions in the university system also downed tools.
They are the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Education and Allied Institutions (NASU).
The Sun says that the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has decried the upsurge in the cost of production, which it said was affecting its output rate.
It noted that the rising price in diesel, raw materials, imports, high interest rate, forex shortage and inflation among others were reducing its production capacity.
In its CEOs Confidence Index (MCCI) presentation for the first quarter which measures changes in the pulse of operators, the association noted that the index declined to 53.9 points from 55.4 points in the fourth quarter of 2021.
“Contributory factors to the decline in the index score for the first quarter of 2022 include eroding disposable income of consumers, the immediate impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine as seen in the hike in price of diesel, wheat and other imported manufacturing inputs, the persistent acute shortage of forex, insecurity, high interest rate, excessive drive for revenue by government,” MAN said.
“Feedbacks from manufacturers identified limited supply of electricity, high cost of local and imported raw materials, persisting acute shortage of forex for importation of machine, raw materials not available locally and persisting insecurity in the country as the first out of the challenges limiting the performance of the manufacturing sector in the period under review.”
Operators are worried that inflation, which accelerated to 15.9 per cent in March, could increase further if the Ukraine -Russia conflict prolong’s disruptions.
The association said the outlook for the second quarter had been dimmed as the Russia-Ukraine crisis had shown no sign of abating.
GIK/APA