Lufthansa suspends services to Air Nigeria

Perhaps taking a cue from General Electric Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS) which withdrew its four aircraft last week, Luftahnsa Technik was Tuesday alleged to have terminated its aircraft spare parts and aircraft component pool which was domiciled in Lagos for the use of Nigeria's major carrier, Air Nigeria.

Before the withdrawal of its services, Lufthansa Technik was the leading provider of Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) support to the airline.

The aircraft maintenance company was servicing the airline's Boeing and Embraer aircraft.

The implication of this is that when the airline, which was grounded by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) about two weeks ago, resumes operation, it would face difficulty in getting spares to service any of its aircraft on ground (AOG) as there would not be readily available aircraft parts for minor repairs.

In fact, an inside source told THISDAY Tuesday in Lagos that with the withdrawal of Lufthansa Technik, the airline may not even resume operation after meeting the laid out conditions by NCAA without approved technical team.

"This is because they cannot carry out any maintenance

of their aircraft. In the first place, NCAA will not even give them approval to start operation without maintenance engineers and they cannot in the time being put up the required engineers to have their own technical team, and where will you even get those engineers?"

Reacting to the report, Air Nigeria denied that the aircraft maintenance company has severed its services to the airline, insisting that Lufthansa Technik was still providing spares to the airline. According to the head of communication of Air Nigeria, Sam Ogbogoro, "Sequel to the recent reduction in our capacity following the return (repossession) of four Boeing B737-300 aircraft in our fleet, we are currently in discussions with Lufthansa Technik to rationalise aircraft spares in alignment with the current fleet size"

Meanwhile, air fares continue to rise for local destinations because only few airlines are still operating as the lull that was observed after the crash of Dana Air flight on June 3, 2012 has given way to an upsurge in passenger movement in many of the nation's airports, especially in Abuja and Lagos airports.

Industry observers said that if the present number of airlines continues to operate in the next few months that fares might rise as high as N50, 000.00 for one hour's flight during the peak period which begins from September.

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National Chairman, Association of Public Health Practitioners of Nigeria, Dr Obehi Okojie, stated this during the induction ceremony of 103 graduates of foreign medical institutions and Igbinedion University Okada.

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This is coming just as president Goodluck Jonathan held a crucial meeting with heads of the other two arms of government, including the Senate President, David Mark; Speaker of the House, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal and the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Dahiru Musdapher to mull the way forward on the war against corruption.

Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke who disclosed federal government's readiness to prosecute alleged looters of the country's funds meant for fuel subsidy in the country said: "The report was not discussed as an issue, but assurances were given that as soon as the EFCC finishes its assignment which is very soon, you will begin to see prosecution probably in the next one week.

"We will begin to prosecute because the EFCC has gone very far. So, Nigerians should be rest assured that this is not an issue that will be swept under the carpet. We have gone this far because we want a proper and painstaking investigation done so that when we charge people to court there will be no lapses or loopholes for lawyers to explore", the AGF added.

Adoke who spoke to State House Correspondents immediately after the meeting of heads of the three arms of government admitted that the meeting was to review strategy on fighting corruption, saying, "Yes, we are coming out with a national strategy on the fight against corruption, and that strategy will involve the three arms of government".

Also present at the meeting from the executive's side were the Vice President, Secretary to Government of the Federation, the Head of Service, Central Bank Governor, Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

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Israel to partner with Nigeria to fight terrorism

The Ambassador of the State of Israel, His Excellency, Mr Moshe Ram has expressed his country's readiness to partner the federal government to combat insurgency in Nigeria.

The envoy who presented a paper on Suicide Terrorism: The Israeli Experience and its relevance to Nigeria, yesterday, during the Abuja Security Summit on Terrorism and Kidnapping in the FCT, however proffered that one way the country could make headway in the fight was to be proactive by using intelligence network to find out their next line of action.

Making allusion to the State of Israel and their fight against terrorism, Ram said that the success so far attained in Israel was mainly due to intelligence operations and the active military presence in the area.

"Israel has not so much learnt how to deter these attacks, as it has learned how to fight and stop them in the planning stages. This is thanks primarily to intelligence operations but also a very strong and active military presence in the area", he said.

Fielding questions from LEADERSHIP, the Ambassador, who disclosed that Nigeria and Israel were already collaborating on various issues of mutual interest said, "Israel is always ready to help Nigeria in the fight against terror. It is our long standing policy to help and to assist our partners and friends. So I mean, it is not a matter of request. Now we are in the process of collaborating on different issues among them is the security issue too.

"We are always ready to help our friends when they are in need and I think that we have a little experience on this issue and our hand is always open to help our friends. There is no magic solution to the problem. All the security organisations should work together, they should know exactly where the people are, they should gather intelligence and more intelligence.

In his keynote address the acting Inspector General of Police, IGP Mohammed Abubakar, who was represented by Chief Superintendent Operations of FCT Command, CSP Gabriel Elaigwu said that terrorism and kidnapping were complex crimes which should not be left for only the security agencies to combat.

While calling on Nigerians to support the security agencies to fight terror, he urged government to provide all the necessary logistics and resources for intelligence gathering and detection of terrorists' activities.

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