The report of economic and financial audit of some domestic airlines passing through what industry stakeholders have described as financial challenges by Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority is one of the leading stories in Nigerian newspapers on Monday.

The Guardian reports that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has begun an economic and financial audit of some domestic airlines passing through what industry stakeholders have described as financial challenges.

Already, the aviation industry regulator had audited Dana Air and development had led to the withdrawal the operating licence of the carrier by the agency

Top industry sources close to the development said the regulator was currently auditing at least two other domestic carriers to ascertain their financial health.

“NCAA DG has mandated a team to audit three domestic airlines to ascertain if they can still continue operation. Dana Air is one of them. This development led the agency to stop Dana from operating. We don’t know whether the two remaining carriers would fail the audit too,” a top official of the NCAA told our correspondent on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter.

Meanwhile, the development came barely weeks after Aero Contractors announced the suspension of its operations. It is unclear if the carrier is having financial crisis but the management complained of skyrocketing aviation fuel prices, foreign exchange crisis, among others.

When contacted on whether the NCAA DG has set up a team/panel to conduct an economic and financial audit on three named airlines, the spokesperson for NCAA, Mr Sam Adurogboye, said, “I am not aware. All I know is that NCAA has a standing audit committee for airlines.”

The newspaper says that the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on Public Sector Matters and Secretary of the National Action Committee (NAC) on African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Francis Anatogu, said the inter-African trade policy would reduce poverty in Nigeria and boost the wealth-creating capacity of the citizens when it fully takes off

Anatogu said this at CEO Dinner/ Luncheon of Toiletries and Cosmetics Manufacturing Group (T&C group) of the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN) in Lagos.

He described the regional trade pact as a process that would benefit generations to come but noted that inter-agency collaboration was necessary if Nigeria would make the best of the agreement, adding that those who would enjoy the benefits “are probably still in primary schools”.

The aide disclosed that his committee was in discussions with relevant agencies on areas of collaboration. He said it was in the interest of all Nigerians to make AfCFTA, which is expected to boost trade among African countries, deliver on its tall ambition.

“Intra-African trade will pull millions out of poverty. Nigeria has huge potential. The global cosmetic market is a N32 billion industry, but we must produce competitively to sell to the rest of the world,” he argued.

Anatogu said the committee would work with the cosmetic manufacturers to prepare them to take maximum advantage of the agreement.

Chairman of the Group, Uche Okafor, said Nigeria has a competitive advantage in cosmetics and that it could be the country’s selling point under AfCFTA.

If the manufacturers get their packaging right, he said, they could compete with their peers in any part of the world.

“There are areas where we need to improve; packaging is one of the areas. There may be expertise issues. But the players are consistently building their capacity.

The most important challenge is infrastructure. With the support of the government, the sector can emerge as a major driver of the economy,” he said.

The Punch says that the proposed crude oil exploration from 57 marginal oil fields is expected to boost Nigeria’s oil production by at least 8.835 million barrels monthly.

 An analysis by The PUNCH has shown that with the newly issued marginal field licences, the country’s oil production is expected to grow by 285, 000 barrels per day, going by the estimated 5,000bpd output projected for each field.

As a result, operators of the new marginal oil field licences are estimated to rake in at least N364bn ($883,500,000) monthly if the oil price remains stable above $100/barrel for a long time. Already, experts have predicted that oil prices may remain above $100 per barrel zone over the next one year.

Going by the analysis, the operators of the fields may rake in about N4.368tn in a year in the absence of external factors such as the activities of oil vandals, and production shutdown, among others.

However, the additional 8.835 million barrels per month is expected to go a long way in boosting the nation’s oil production.

A marginal oil field is described as any field with oil and gas reserves, booked and reported annually to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, but remains explored for a period of over 10 years.

The marginal oil field programme was introduced to encourage increased indigenous participation in the Nigerian petroleum sector and grow the country’s crude oil and gas reserves.

Each field is expected to produce at least 5000 barrels of oil per day at the initial exploration stage.

The newspaper says that Tobi Amusan became the first Nigerian athlete to win a World Athletics Championship gold as she stormed to victory in the women’s 100m hurdles in Oregon on Sunday.

Amusan, who had obliterated the world record in an astonishing semi-final where she clocked 12.12sec, powered over the line at Hayward Field in 12.06sec.

Her winning time will not be recognised as a world record, however, due to a strong following win of 2.5 metres per second.

Amusan had produced a jaw-dropping world record in the semi-finals, smashing the previous best mark of 12.20secs held by Keni Harrison of the United States in 2016.

“Honestly, I believe in my abilities but I was not expecting a world record at these championships,” Amusan said after her final victory. “The goal is always just to execute well and get the win. So the world record is a bonus. I knew I had it in me but I could not believe it when I saw it on the screen after the semis.

Jamaica’s Britany Anderson took silver in 12.23sec, while Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico claimed bronze in 12.23.

The Nation reports that terrorists have threatened to abduct President Muhammadu Buhari and Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai.

The terrorists group is suspected to be behind the abduction of passengers in a Kaduna-bound train in March.

In the now-viral video seen by The Nation, captives were subject to inhumane treatment. The video has since sparked widespread outrage.

One of the terrorists said captives in their camp would be sold off as slaves if their demands were not met by the government.

Speaking in Hausa, he said: “This is our message to the government of Nigeria and just as you have seen these people here, by God’s grace, you will see your leaders; your senators and governors will come before us

“These ones you are seeing here, we will keep some as our slaves and sell them off just as our Imam told you in the past.

“Just like the Chibok girls that were sold off, we will equally sell these ones as slaves. If you don’t adhere to our demands, we will kill the ones we need to kill and sell the remaining.

“By God’s grace, el-Rufai, Buhari, we will bring them here.”

GIK/APA