Flight Cancellation:Court Fines Ethiopian Airlines N7m

A Lagos Federal High Court has awarded a fine of N6 million as general damages against Ethiopian Airlines Limited  for cancelling three Nigerians’ flights without due notice to the plaintiffs.
In his verdict:Justice Adekunle Faji also awarded another sum of N1 million as the cost of the action.
He  held that the defendant was bound to give notice of the flight cancellation to the plaintiffs and having not shown proof of such notice, its action was in breach of the contract of carriage.
He also found that the defendant breached the contract of carriage with the plaintiffs by its failure to give notice of its flight cancellation, as required by the NCAA Regulations.
He noted that this caused the plaintiffs who were on a family trip in a foreign land hardship, stress, and inconvenience in rescheduling their flights.
The  damages were awarded in favour of the plaintiffs, the Madakin Zazzau, Munir Jaafaru; his wife Hadizat Jaafaru, and their daughter, Hafsat Jaafaru, for the hardships, stress, and inconvenience caused them by the airline’s cancellation of their flights without notice.
In the suit filed on April 27, 2018, the plaintiffs sought among other things, a declaration that the airline contravened the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Regulations, 2015 by cancelling the flights without due notice and for the consequent hardships, stress, and inconvenience.

The Osun State Judicial Panel of Inquiry probing cases of police brutality,says  all the 34 petitions brought before it had been concluded.
Of the 34 petitions, 11 were struck out for being incompetent or for lack of diligent prosecution, while in the 23 others, the parties were called to defend their positions,the chairman of  the panel,Justice Akin Oladimeji, (retd.), told  newsmen after the panel’s sitting.
Oladimeji said, “We have concluded all the cases before us. As you know, 34 petitions were filed before the panel. We are winding up today to go and review the pieces of evidence and the submissions made by counsel; after that we will proceed to make recommendations to the government.
“Out of the 34 petitions, 11 were struck out due to incompetence or lack of diligent prosecution. In the other 23 cases, parties gave evidence and counsel represented the parties too. Their lawyers made final submissions and we have concluded all the cases.
“We will invite the petitioners after we have presented our recommendations to the government who is solely responsible for the payment of the compensations to give them their compensations. As we all know, the recommendations must be in line with the financial capacity of the government, and I can assure you that we are going to make our recommendations to the governor before the end of April or early May.”
FG Rakes In  N538bn From Ports Taxes 

The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, Mr Alex Okoh, has disclosed that the Federal Government saved over N500bn from the privatisation of the ports infrastructure.
 Okoh,who was represented by Director, Infrastructure and Public-Private Partnership, Department of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, Amaechi Aloke, said involving the private sector saved the government a fortune.
 Aloke who spoke at a virtual forum on alternative financing model for Nigeria’s maritime sector which held on Thursday said the government had been able to make N538bn in a space of 11 years after the privatisation.
He said, “One can say that the involvement of the private sector in the ports has paid off to the government. Based on our reviews, we can see from the slides that more than half a trillion has been generated either in the form of fees paid, throughput fees, investment in infrastructure, investment in other equipment.
 “As a result of these, tax paid to the government came to a total of N538bn between 2006 and 2017. That is the kind of money the government would have lost  if it had not done the reform in the sector.”
CBN Restates Commitment To Industrial Growth

Emefiele Projects 2.5% GDP Growth in 2020, Restates Commitment to Job  CreationTHISDAYLIVE
The Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) has restated its commitment to the growth of  local businesses and industrial sector in the country.
Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department of the CBN, Mr Osita Nwanisobi, who conveyed the assurance  at the bank’s special day at the ongoing Enugu International Trade Fair,said that the apex bank created a N150bln targeted credit facility for small medium enterprises  through the NIRSAL Micro Finance Bank.
He said that the facility had since been doubled to about N300bln in order to accommodate more beneficiaries and boost consumer expenditure.
According to him, the bank in its bid to boost local manufacturing and production across the critical sectors of the economy established another  N1trn facility in loans.
He added:“Only a few weeks ago, we gave out the first batch of grants under the Health Sector Research and Development Intervention Scheme to five researchers in various medical fields”
He explained that the grant was designed to trigger intense national research and development activities to develop a Nigerian vaccine, drugs and herbal medicines against Coronavirus and other diseases.
In his remarks, President of Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA) Emeka Nwandu,appealed to the apex bank to rescue the nation’s industrial sector from looming collapse.
He said a situation where businesses were left with no option than to access bank credit with interest rates of 25 per cent to 30 per cent was worrisome .
 Nwandu said that the prevailing situation had in no way helped in increasing the nation’s productive level, GDP and stability of the economy.
He said that the chamber was worried that the creation of the NIRSAL Micro Finance Bank had not positively affected the productive sector due to slow disbursement of funds.
He said “We commend the CBN for ensuring availability of credit facilities to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by creating the NIRSAL Micro Finance Bank through which loans are disbursed at five per cent interest rate.
“We are, however, worried that the process and level of disbursement have been very slow and low, especially since the second quarter of 2020. This slow pace of disbursement will not in any way support the objectives of the scheme”.
EFCC Boss Seeks Support Of Nigerians In Diaspora Against Corruption

Money Laundering: EFCC Seeks Collaboration with Nigerians in Diaspora |
Abdulrasheed Bawa, Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) has urged Nigerians abroad to join the President, Mohammadu Buhari in the anti-corruption campaign in order to improve the f image of the country, reduce  waste and aid investment inflow.
He spoke  at a  virtual training organized for Nigerians in Diaspora, stating that Nigeria is believed to lose billions of dollars to crooks who feast on public funds.
The training was organised by Human and Environmental Development Agenda, (HEDA Resource Centre in collaboration with the EFCC, the United Kingdom-based Kent University Law School and Finance Uncovered with the support of MacArthur Foundation, Open Society Initiative for West Africa, (OSIWA) and Open Society Foundation.
Bawa,who was represented by  Dr Enakeno Oju,urged  Nigerians in the Diaspora to see themselves as anti-corruption envoys, that corruption fuels inequalities, aids poverty and provides incentives for extremism.
He  expressed support for non-state actors helping to stop corruption in the country
“Nigerians in Diaspora must join hands with President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to fight against Corruption for a better Nigeria,” he said.
No Fuel Hike Now-NNPC

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said it would maintain its current ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) until the conclusion of ongoing engagement with the organized labour and other stakeholders.
Speaking with  newsmen in Abuja, the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr. Kennie Obateru, said the Corporation, at the moment, was bearing the burden of importing refined petroleum products as the supplier of last resort to guarantee energy security for the nation.
Shedding more light on the recent interview by the Group Managing Director, Mallam Mele Kyari, at the State House, Dr. Obateru explained  that the NNPC has no intention to preempt ongoing engagement with labour by unilaterally increasing the ex-depot price of petrol, even though the Corporation is bearing the burden of price differentials between the landing cost and pump price of petrol.
He said as a proactive organization, NNPC has made arrangements for robust stock of petroleum products in all its strategic depots across the country to keep the nation well supplied at all times.
Dr. Obateru advised petroleum products marketers not to engage in arbitrary price increase or hoarding of petrol so as not to disrupt the market.
He also urged motorists not to engage in panic buying, stressing that NNPC was committed to ensuring energy security for the country as the supplier of last resort.
He assured marketers and all other relevant stakeholders in the downstream sector of sustainable collaboration for the public interest.