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High Customs duties kill ground-handling business in Nigeria—–SAHCO boss —-begs government for waivers

Eyewitness reporter
The Managing Director, Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO), a subsidiary of SIFAX Group,Mr. Basil Agboarumi, has raised serious concerns over the debilitating effects which  the high customs duties on ground-handling equipment have on the business of ground Handling companies in the country.
Agboarumi, who spoke in Lagos at the weekend, believed that for the operators of ground-handling companies to break even in Nigeria, government should give them palliatives similar to the gesture offered to airline operators in terms of duty waivers on the importation of these equipment.
He noted that, just like aircraft and aircraft parts that enjoy duty waivers are sourced in international market, ground handling equipment are similarly expensive and equally procured outside the country.
The SAHCO boss disclosed that operators of ground handling business have come together to approach government on the need to get duty waivers if they were to remain in business.
Towards this end, he revealed that they  had sent documentation and representation to the Ministry of Aviation and Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) in the hope that the issue can be looked at and given speedy approval and implementation.

”We felt that no matter what government is doing for the airlines, ground handling should be included and benefit from it too.

‘It is just the same way aircraft are gotten from abroad that is our own are brought in because none of our equipment is manufactured in Nigeria.

“We also place orders so that the manufacturers do them. We pay quite a lot of money to get in our handling equipment. We believe that what should be done is that same kind of waivers that the airlines are enjoying should also be extended to us to make life easier for us.

“We are taking our case to the government, Ministry of Aviation and the NCAA as the representative of government in the aviation industry.

“The last point was NCAA requesting for some information from us and some of the things that we learnt has to do with the issues have been raised in some higher places and they needed to submit data and positions.

“So we submitted our position and I believe that they have taken it from us and we are expecting a feedback from government in that regard. We believe governments should look at us.”

Agboarimi disclosed that  SAHCO spend huge sum as customs duty on most of its equipment and this could be saved and ploughed back to improve the business if waivers are granted.

“At times,  we spent as much as N36 million to clear just one equipment”  he lamented.
“It is huge. Everything we bring in. We spent N36 million to clear one of our equipment recently.
“Sometimes, you have some of our equipment that goes as much as one million dollars. We have equipment like that.

“As I talk to you, there are equipment we placed orders for since early 2020. By the time pandemic started, we still wanted to go on but we couldn’t raise funds. There was one that finished manufacturing and we couldn’t have money to pay, so they have to give it to another ground handling company.

“Sometimes, it takes about six months to produce ground handling equipment. These are some of the challenges. We fabricate those ones we have the capacity to do”

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Aviation

Keyamo approves relocation of FAAN back to Lagos ,says staying in Abuja is waste of public funds.

Keyamo
The Eyewitness Reporter
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has explained the reasons why he approved the relocation of the Headquarters of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria(FAAN) back to Lagos.
In a press statement signed Mrs. Obiageli Orah, Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Keyamo explained that the initial relocation of FAAN headquarters from Lagos, from where it had been operating decades ago, was ill-advised which he said amounted to a waste of public funds.
The Minister further explained that those affected by the initial decision to move the agency’s headquarters to Abuja have since returned to Lagos as there was no office space for them in Abuja.
“We have noted the inquiries some Nigerians have made regarding the directive of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, to relocate the corporate Headquarters of FAAN from Abuja to its original base, Lagos, where it has operated for decades until recently.
“FAAN wishes to inform Nigerians that following wide consultations by the new Management of FAAN with stakeholders, which also involved the Unions, it was agreed that this was in the best interest of the Authority and the country for now for the following reasons:
“It was ill-advised in the first place to move the headquarters to Abuja when there was no single FAAN building in Abuja to accommodate all of them at once.
” Those affected by the initial decision to move the agency’s headquarters to Abuja have since returned to Lagos as there is no office space for them in Abuja
“Having returned to Lagos, the Authority would be liable to pay them DTA (DUTY TOUR ALLOWANCE) because technically they are working OUT OF STATION as their official posting is to ABUJA.
“The Minister has decided to stop this waste of public resources and rip-off on the public purse.
⁠”The other option open to the Authority was abandon the old FAAN building in Lagos to rot away and to use its scarce resources to rent an office space in Abuja for Millions of Naira of public money when in actual fact more than sixty percent of its activities are in Lagos given the huge passenger volume of the Lagos airports.
“The stakeholders and the Minister decided against that and to save the country this waste.
“The Minister has rolled out plans to get concessionaires to build befitting offices for the Authority in Lagos and Abuja and until that is done, the Authority will continue to manage its old building in Lagos that can accommodate all its Directors and senior officials for now.
“⁠Abuja continues to have full operational offices and the Authority has not scaled down operations in Abuja one bit.
“It is just the technical decision of where the Authority has its ‘corporate headquarters’ that has been taken without affecting the structure of operations as they are for now in both cities.
” ⁠In the near future, when befitting corporate buildings have been built for the Authority in both Lagos and Abuja, a final decision will be taken as to the location of the permanent headquarters, depending on the exigencies of the time.
“The Authority wishes to assure members of the public that it will continue to act in the best interest of the public and the country.
“The Honourable Minister is committed to making decisions that are in the best interest of the country, especially as it concerns public funds and will not yield to ethnic or sectional sentiments that will derail this commitment”, the statement concluded.
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Aviation

News Alert! Pandemonium in Lagos as Helicopter explodes, crashes into building

The Eyewitness Reporter
Confusion and panic gripped the residents of Oba Akran area of Lagos when a Helicopter crashed into a resident building in the area.
According to an eyewitness at the scene of the incident, the helicopter crashed into a building located adjacent  AP filling station and United Bank of Africa (UBA) and exploded.
The incident, which happened around 3:00 pm Tuesday, caused pandemonium among the residents in the area who ran helter-skelter.
Sources said the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) was immediately mobilised to the scene where four persons were rescued from the wreckage.

NEMA’s Lagos Territorial Office Coordinator, Ibrahim Farinloye who confirmed the crash, said rescue operations were ongoing.

He said details were still sketchy, adding that information would be provided as soon as they were available.

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Aviation

Sirika, former Aviation minister, ‘jets’ into DSS custody over Air Nigeria controversial project

Hadi Sirika
The Eyewitness Reporter
The Department of State Services (DSS) has caught up with Hadi Sirika, the former Minister of Aviation over the controversial Air Nigeria project.
The former Aviation minister was taken into the custody of the secret police for questioning on the national carrier project widely believed to be a scam.
He was said to have reported himself to the DSS office in Abuja Thursday in a Range Rover SUV after which he was reportedly grilled for several hours over the failed project.
Sirika had, at the twilight of his tenure, went through what was later discovered to be a charade when he launched the multi-million dollar national air carrier, Air Nigeria.
The lid on what has now been described as a scam ”launch” was blown open by the Acting Managing Director of Nigeria Air, Captain Dapo Olumide, who admitted that the plane that was unveiled as Air Nigeria was a chartered aircraft from Ethiopian Airlines.
Olumide had told the stunned members of the Senate Committee on Aviation that the aircraft was leased from Ethiopian Airlines and merely used to unveil the Air Nigeria logo as the real Air Nigeria project was yet to be operational.
The plane that was unveiled was confirmed to be over 10 years old and had previously been operated by Ethiopian Airlines and Malawi Airlines.

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