Friday, March 24, 2017

Video - Aviation unions in Nigeria shutdown Arik Air for not reinstating sacked members



Aviation unions have shut down Arik Air, the largest airline in Nigeria. The unions, had threatened to shut down the airline following Arik management's failure to reinstate its sacked members. With regards to the Airline, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria had taken over Arik as a result of the airline's high debts. AMCON had thereafter appointed Roy Ilegbodu as manager of the airline. The new management was shortly however accused of intolerance to unions. It was alleged that the new management, through a recent circular, warned the workers not to join the unions in the industry and had refused to address all the pending issues affecting the workers. Staff at the airline shut down its operations, as the entrance of the airline's office at the Lagos airport was barricaded.

Libya deports 159 Nigerians

Libyan authorities on Thursday flew home 159 Nigerian migrants stranded after failing to reach Europe, in the second such voluntary repatriation operation this week. “In coordination with the IOM (International Organization for Migration), we are repatriating 159 Nigerians… including three infants,” Badreddine Ben Hamed, head of Libya’s anti-illegal immigration force, told AFP at Mitiga airport.

The Nigerians, wearing tracksuits and new sneakers, were driven to the airport near the Libyan capital in two buses. “I wish I could go to Europe but I can’t,” said a woman called Fate, carrying a baby in her arms. “I’m happy to be going home,” said another Nigerian woman. IOM head William Lacy Swing, who was in Tripoli on Wednesday, visited a reception centre for migrants accompanied by the UN special envoy for Libya, Martin Kobler.

“We can no longer turn our back on the communities affected by the current migration crisis” in Libya, said Swing, who met with Libyan officials. Kobler said it was “a humanitarian imperative” to improve the living conditions of migrants and help with repatriations.

“Voluntary return must be assisted,” he wrote on Twitter. A group of 150 nationals of the Ivory Coast, gathered from detention centres around Libya, were flown home on Tuesday. Six years since a revolution that toppled dictator Moamer Kadhafi, Libya has become a key departure point for clandestine migration to Europe via perilous boat crossings of the Mediterranean. The IOM has said 521 migrants died in the Mediterranean from January 1 to March 5, 2017.

Vanguard

48-hour online visa application system launched in Nigeria

Nigeria has launched an online system aimed at enabling business executives to apply for a visa online and collect it on arrival 48 hours later, its immigration service said on Thursday.

The move to ease visa rules in the West African country follows complaints from foreign executives that obstructive embassy officials made it difficult to enter the country.

Under the new system, travellers must register with the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and provide details including travel document information, after which a letter of approval may be issued and the visa collected on arrival.

Mohammed Babandede, comptroller general of the NIS, said the facility was in line with the government's "policy on creation of a conducive environment to attract foreign high net worth investors and professionals into the economy".

Overseas investors have mainly stayed away from Africa's largest economy after being put off by a gap of around 30 percent between the official rate of the naira currency, controlled by the central bank, and rates on the parallel market.

Nigeria, an OPEC member, is in recession for the first time in 25 years largely due to low oil prices.

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Video - Suicide attackers target camps for displaced people in Maiduguri



Multiple blasts have rocked camps for internally displaced people in the North-eastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri. Two blasts took place at camps for Nigerians fleeing Boko Haram's insurgency. That's according to Borno State Police Commander Damian Chukwu. At least four people have been killed and nearly 20 others injured in the attacks. All of the suicide bombers involved in the attacks have been killed. Boko Haram has been waging an insurgency in the region for years now. It's believed the ISIL-affiliated group has killed at least a hundred thousand people over the years.

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Video - Nigeria introduces new immigration regulations



Nigeria has unveiled a new immigration policy to check the entry of terrorists and other trans-border crimes in the country. According to the country's Interior minister, the policy known as Immigration Regulations 2017, is also aimed at fast-tracking the ease of doing business in Nigeria. Abdulrahman Dambazau says new regulations would include temporary permit, visa on arrival, entry for business purposes and immigrants register among others. He said new documents to be issued will go a long way in tackling terrorism and herders/farmers clashes in the country.