Unhelpful staff, demands for bribes, lack of seating, broken air-conditioning and a tent for an arrivals hall. Nigeria's Port Harcourt International Airport was recently voted the worst in the world.
The damning verdict came from a travel website, sleepinginairports.net, based on feedback from thousands of travellers on criteria such as terminal services and facilities, cleanliness and comfort.
As well as the dubious global honour, Port Harcourt, Nigeria's oil hub, was described as "the dirtiest and most corrupt airport in Africa".
The capital, Abuja, and financial hub, Lagos, were judged seventh and 10th worst on the continent.
But the country's aviation regulator, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), disputed the ranking.
FAAN spokesman Yakubu Dati called it "unfounded" as the domestic terminal at Port Harcourt was undergoing renovation and a new international terminal was being built.
Lagos' Murtala Muhammed International Airport has also undergone similar renovation, while Chinese engineers are building a new terminal at the Nnamdi Azikiwe airport in Abuja.
"While we regret any inconvenience experienced at these airports, including Port Harcourt International Airport, due to ongoing construction projects, we promise all airport users that services at these airports will surely get better at the completion of these projects," he told AFP.
Nigeria's aviation industry has evolved since the liquidation of the state-run Nigeria Airways in the early 2000s because of mismanagement and corruption.
With more than 20 functional planes in 1979, the national carrier was left with just two in 1999, prompting the government to throw open the skies to the private sector.
Carriers such as Arik Air, Dana Air, Aero Contractors, Med-View, Kabo and Overland Airways have since emerged as key players.
Arik, which has a partnership for maintenance with Lufthansa, is dominant with a strong presence on domestic and regional routes, as well as longer-haul flights to London, and Johannesburg.
Med-View recently got the nod to fly Lagos-London from November 20.
- Safety fears -
British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, Gulf carriers Emirates and Qatar Airways and African airlines South African and Ethiopian are among international carriers flying to Nigeria.
On domestic routes, fuel shortages regularly lead to flight cancellations while air crashes, such as a Dana Air flight that came down in Lagos in 2012, killing 147, have generated safety fears.
In airports themselves, decaying or non-existent facilities have failed to make good impressions.
In 2012, the government awarded contracts to remodel Nigeria's 22 airports, including the construction of new terminals at four international airports, with the help of a $500 million loan from China's Nexim Bank.
On completion, the projects are expected to help grow passenger traffic to 16 million passengers per year, from 14.1 million in 2012.
Aviation experts, however, say the extent of works do not correspond to the money spent.
"The remodelling of the airports has been on for four years, but regrettably, not much is on ground in terms of modern facilities," said a former senior official of the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency on condition of anonymity.
The chairman of commercial carrier Arik, Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide, shared a similar view and called on the government to focus on infrastructure, from terminals to luggage conveyor belts.
"With this and good fuel supply the airlines can operate efficiently," he said.
Niyi Akinnaso, a US-based university teacher and newspaper columnist, said familiar Nigerian problems of mismanagement and corruption were holding the sector back.
The $500 million Chinese loan would not have been necessary if there were proper accountability in revenue collection, he argued in a recent article in The Punch newspaper.
He said the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria rakes in more than $2 billion a year from passenger surcharges and other fees, including a $60 surcharge from every international ticket.
Yahoo
Related story: Port Harcourt International airport in Nigeria voted world's worst airport
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
President Muhammadu Buhari swears in new cabinet members
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari swore 36 ministers into his cabinet on Wednesday, nearly six months after he was sworn in.
Until now, although the senate had approved all 36 nominees, no one knew which portfolio each of the ministers would be assigned.
Buhari won March elections after vowing to crack down on corruption in Africa's biggest economy and top oil producer. He has been criticized for waiting until September to name his ministers at a time when the economy has been hammered by the fall in oil prices.
Buhari's cabinet is smaller than that of his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, who had 42 ministers. Under the constitution, the president must include a member from each of the country's 36 states.
Lengthy process
Garba Shehu, senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, told VOA last month the selection process had taken this long because President Buhari, unlike previous presidents, has high expectations of his cabinet.
Professor Kabiru Mato, director of the political science department of the University Abuja, said Nigerians are anxious to know who will occupy some of the key cabinet posts, including the finance and foreign ministries, and especially whether Buhari will make good on his plan to take over the oil ministry, which accounts for nearly 70 percent of all Nigerian government revenue but which had been plagued in the past by corruption.
“After the swearing-in, the president will now allocate responsibilities or assign each of these 36 ministers to the various ministries and departments of government that they are supposed to serve. And after the portfolios are assigned, then the president said he’s going to have his first federal executive council meeting,” he said.
Mato said Nigerians do not know which ministers are going to occupy which departments because Buhari did not submit the nominees with their assigned portfolios at their senate confirmation hearing.
As a result, Mato said, much of what Nigerians know about the portfolios has been based on speculation. Some said the cabinet is made up of many familiar faces who helped elect Buhari.
Key ministries
Among the candidates for the key ministry of finance is Okechukwu Enyinna Enelamah, a former Goldman Sachs banker who heads Nigeria's biggest private equity firm, African Capital Alliance.
Mato said the new cabinet ministers will carry big responsibilities.
“Whoever the president nominated and confirmed by the senate, it is assumed that that person is going to be an agent of change. He’s also going to play a credible role that Nigeria is no longer going to be run with business as usual where people who are appointed to lofty cabinet positions are only to serve their aggrandizement as against providing their skills and entrepreneurship and expertise in moving the nation forward,” he said.
Mato said he hopes President Buhari will make good on his suggestion that he will to take over the oil ministry.
“The president’s body language seems to suggest that he’s going to appoint a minister of state for petroleum while he sits in as overall supervisor of the petroleum sector. I think that would be a very wise decision based on the fact that he desires to put some very tight control measures in the way and manner that national resources from the sale of oil, which of course constitutes more than 80 percent of the total income of the country,” Mato said.
VOA
Until now, although the senate had approved all 36 nominees, no one knew which portfolio each of the ministers would be assigned.
Buhari won March elections after vowing to crack down on corruption in Africa's biggest economy and top oil producer. He has been criticized for waiting until September to name his ministers at a time when the economy has been hammered by the fall in oil prices.
Buhari's cabinet is smaller than that of his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, who had 42 ministers. Under the constitution, the president must include a member from each of the country's 36 states.
Lengthy process
Garba Shehu, senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, told VOA last month the selection process had taken this long because President Buhari, unlike previous presidents, has high expectations of his cabinet.
Professor Kabiru Mato, director of the political science department of the University Abuja, said Nigerians are anxious to know who will occupy some of the key cabinet posts, including the finance and foreign ministries, and especially whether Buhari will make good on his plan to take over the oil ministry, which accounts for nearly 70 percent of all Nigerian government revenue but which had been plagued in the past by corruption.
“After the swearing-in, the president will now allocate responsibilities or assign each of these 36 ministers to the various ministries and departments of government that they are supposed to serve. And after the portfolios are assigned, then the president said he’s going to have his first federal executive council meeting,” he said.
Mato said Nigerians do not know which ministers are going to occupy which departments because Buhari did not submit the nominees with their assigned portfolios at their senate confirmation hearing.
As a result, Mato said, much of what Nigerians know about the portfolios has been based on speculation. Some said the cabinet is made up of many familiar faces who helped elect Buhari.
Key ministries
Among the candidates for the key ministry of finance is Okechukwu Enyinna Enelamah, a former Goldman Sachs banker who heads Nigeria's biggest private equity firm, African Capital Alliance.
Mato said the new cabinet ministers will carry big responsibilities.
“Whoever the president nominated and confirmed by the senate, it is assumed that that person is going to be an agent of change. He’s also going to play a credible role that Nigeria is no longer going to be run with business as usual where people who are appointed to lofty cabinet positions are only to serve their aggrandizement as against providing their skills and entrepreneurship and expertise in moving the nation forward,” he said.
Mato said he hopes President Buhari will make good on his suggestion that he will to take over the oil ministry.
“The president’s body language seems to suggest that he’s going to appoint a minister of state for petroleum while he sits in as overall supervisor of the petroleum sector. I think that would be a very wise decision based on the fact that he desires to put some very tight control measures in the way and manner that national resources from the sale of oil, which of course constitutes more than 80 percent of the total income of the country,” Mato said.
VOA
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
President Muhammadu Buhari sacks anti-corruption chief
No reason was given for the removal of Ibrahim Lamorde, the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In August, Mr Lamorde denied allegations that $5bn (£3.3bn) had gone missing at the commission.
Mr Buhari won Nigeria's presidential elections in March, promising to fight corruption in the country.
In August, a Senate committee said it was investigating charges that assets and cash recovered by the EFCC had been diverted.
At the time, Mr Lamorde told the BBC the charges were a smear campaign.
He led the EFCC for four years until his dismissal on Monday.
President Buhari's spokesman Garba Shehu said later on Monday that assistant Police Commissioner Ibrahim Mustafa Magu had been appointed as the EFCC acting commissioner.
President Buhari - the former army general known for his authoritarian style - was elected in March on a platform of cleaning up Nigerian politics, the BBC's Martin Patience in Lagos reports.
More than five months after he came to power his new cabinet is finally expected to be sworn in later this week. The reason for the extraordinary delay is that President Buhari wants to try to ensure that new ministers will not use their offices for personal gain, our correspondent says.
He adds that this has won Mr Buhari widespread support in Nigeria where many are tired of the corruption, which they believe is preventing the country from realising its full economic potential.
BBC
Monday, November 9, 2015
Video - MTN CEO resigns due to $5.2 billion fine imposed by Nigeria
MTN Group Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Sifiso Dabengwa unexpectedly resigned from Africa’s biggest mobile-phone operator to take responsibility for a $5.2 billion fine in Nigeria that’s wiped almost a fifth off the market value of the company.
Dabengwa will be replaced by former CEO and Chairman Phuthuma Nhleko, 55, for as many as six months while the company searches for a permanent successor, Johannesburg-based MTN said in a statement on Monday. Nhleko, who led MTN for almost nine years until 2011 and increased subscriber numbers 30-fold through rapid international expansion, said he will deal with the Nigerian Communications Commission personally about the penalty. Talks are at an advanced stage, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as discussions are private.
Nhleko said he will “pro-actively deal with the Nigerian regulator and will continue to work with them in addressing the issues.” MTN shares traded 1.8 percent higher at 160.35 rand as of 11:43 a.m. in Johannesburg.
Dabengwa, 57, resigned over the weekend after consultation with the board and his financial compensation hasn’t been decided, spokesman Chris Maroleng said by phone, describing the move as an “honorable gesture.” The company has until Nov. 16 to pay the Nigerian fine, which was imposed for missing a deadline to disconnect 5.1 million unregistered subscribers and is based on a charge of 200,000 naira ($1,008) for each unregistered customer.
“We’ve been anticipating this but not the timing,” Arthur Goldstuck, an analyst at World Wide Worx, said by phone. “One can only assume his role in the negotiations was not effective.”
MTN shares have declined about 16 percent since the Nigeria penalty was made public two weeks, valuing the company at 289 billion rand ($20.4 billion).
“The departure of Sifiso Dabengwa is the beginning of a clearing out that is necessary to regain the confidence of investors,” Goldstuck said.
MTN expanded into markets such as Iraq and Syria under Nhleko and now has more than 230 million customers in 22 countries. Nigeria is the company’s biggest market with more than 62 million subscribers, or almost a quarter of the total. The NCC last week approved the renewal and extension of MTN’s license for another five years until 2021 pending the payment of $94.2 million.
“Due to the most unfortunate prevailing circumstances occurring at MTN Nigeria, I, in the interest of the company and its shareholders, have tendered my resignation with immediate effect,” Dabengwa said in the statement. He didn’t answer calls to his mobile-phone seeking further comment.
“Sifiso leaving is a loss to the industry,” Shameel Joosob, CEO of MTN competitor Vodacom Group Ltd., said by phone. “I see this issue as a bump in the road. They will probably negotiate a settlement on the fine.”
Bloomberg
Nigeria wins World Scrabble Championship
The 32-year-old beat Englishman Lewis MacKay 4-0 in the final in Australia.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was among those to congratulate him, saying he has "done the country proud".
Mr Jighere said on his Facebook page that he felt he was playing with the "whole continent" behind him.
He added that it "still baffles" him that he managed to win, given how tired he felt as he had "not slept well in about a week".
Wellington Jighere put down:
Dacoit - a member of a class of robbers in India and Burma
Yow - Australian slang for keeping a look-out
Katti - an alternative spelling for a weight used in China
Aah - an expression of surprise
Lewis MacKay put down:
Jomo - an alternative spelling for zhomo, an animal bred from a yak and a cow
Yex - an Old English word for sobbing
Guiro - a musical instrument made from a gourd
Wemb - an obsolete alternative spelling of womb
Onely - an obsolete alternative spelling of only
He told the Guardian newspaper that he had training to deal with the fatigue from the jet lag, but also had to cope with 32 rounds of matches in four days before getting to the final in Perth.
Mr Jighere and the five other members of the Nigerian team only arrived in Australia the day before the tournament started, so had little chance to get over the 20-hour flight or the seven-hour time difference.
President Buhari phoned him in Perth to "rejoice" with him over the performance and pass on his congratulations to all the players, who finished the competition as the best team.
According to the president's spokesman, Mr Jighere "pledged to bring more glory to his fatherland".
Mr Jighere will be coming home with a $10,000 (£6,600) prize but now has to find a job.
He recently finished his national service following his graduation from university, but took a few months off from looking for work in order to prepare for the championship.
President of Nigeria's Scrabble federation Sulaiman Gora told the BBC on the telephone from Nigeria that Mr Jighere is a quiet person whose "greatest strength is humility".
Mr Gora, who also heads the Pan-African Scrabble federation, said that the "whole country and the whole of Africa is celebrating this success".
In 2008, Ivorian Elisee Poka won the French-language Scrabble World Championship and this year Schelick Ilagou Rekawe from Gabon reached the final of that competition. He lost to New Zealander Nigel Richards, who does not speak French.
BBC
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