Business

Air Namibia Suspends Operations in Nigeria

Published

5 years ago

May 31, 2019

Eric

Due to Nigeria diplomatic row with Namibia, the Air Namibia has suspended its flight on its Windhoek-Lagos-Accra route.

This was contained in a statement issued on Friday by Namibia’s national carrier.

The suspension was to take immediate effect. The carrier started in June 2018.

At the beginning of its operation, the airline generated high revenue due to the high numbers of passengers to and fro Nigeria.

One of the sources said, “There are some diplomatic issues that need to be resolved with the Namibian authorities. The issue has nothing to do with the high commission in Nigeria but with the high commission and immigration in Namibia.”

“During February 2019, the Nigerian High Commissioner to Namibia banned the issuing of visas to Namibian passport holders,” the airline said.

Another major issue is the fact that when the airlines take off from Nigeria, it is crowded to Namibia but when the airline is returning, it comes back empty but Nigerians going to Namibia have no issues with processing visas but the issue of profitability is the major reason.

“In addition, there are messages circulating in Nigeria about Namibia being ‘anti-Nigeria’, with travellers being urged to avoid visiting Namibia, as well as avoid using Windhoek as a transit point when travelling to South Africa.

“The load factor performance of the route dropped from average 55% attained during June 2018 to January 2019, to between 35% and 38% during February to April 2019.

Wimpie van Vuuren, the acting general manager of commercial services, said the ban on issuing visas to Namibians could be “linked to allegations that Nigerians are normally ill-treated by Namibian border control officials at Hosea Kutako International Airport when arriving or transiting through Windhoek”.

The airline said its efforts to mitigate the diplomatic issues by consulting with stakeholders proved futile.

“All affected passengers will be assisted by accommodating them on flights operated by partner airlines at Air Namibia’s cost, or they will be refunded if they opt not to fly anymore.”

Business

Glo Launches New Internet Solution Products for Homes, Businesses

Published

1 week ago

April 8, 2024

Eric

Two new products, which provide internet connectivity solutions specially designed for Residential and SME commercial customers, have been unveiled by digital solutions company, Globacom.

The products, Fibre to the Home (FTTH) and Fibre to the Business (FTTB) were packaged for Glo customers to enjoy reliable and high speed internet through linked fibre services.

Globacom said in a statement in Lagos “With these services, businesses and homes can access dedicated internet speeds of up to 1GBps, allowing unlimited internet usages for seamless video calls, video and music streaming and a whole lot of other dedicated usages to promote business success and equally provide endless entertainment for homes”.

It explained that the new product comes with a unique opportunity for “Residential Estates, High Rise Apartments, Commercial SME Estates to enjoy dedicated high speed internet in their cluster”.

These services, according to Globacom, give exceptional experience and unmatched speed for users at home or in offices and are provided through hi-speed fibre – unlike copper which was being used in the past.

Positioning itself as the premier provider of innovative solutions for businesses of all sizes, Globacom assured customers of the best value for money with the new offerings, adding that users who sign on for these services will also enjoy fully dedicated bandwidth.

“We are committed to delivering the most cost-effective data connectivity experience for homes and businesses in addition to providing dedicated and reliable services.” Globacom concluded.

Business

Naira Appreciates Further, Sells at N1,280/$ at Parallel Market

Published

3 weeks ago

March 30, 2024

Eric

The naira, on Friday, appreciated to N1,280 per dollar at the parallel section of the foreign exchange (FX) market.

The current FX rate signifies a 5.19 percent appreciation from the N1,350/$ reported on March 27.

Currency traders in Lagos, also known as bureau de change (BDCs) operators, quoted the buying rate of the greenback at N1,260 and the selling price at N1,280 — leaving a profit margin of N20.

“The price of the dollar as well as other major currencies have been falling. It is affecting our business as some customers prefer to keep their currencies than change it with us,” a currency trader identified as Aliyu told TheCable.

At the official section of the FX market, the local currency depreciated by 0.69 percent to N1,309.39/$ on March 28 — from N1,300.43/$ on March 27.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on March 29, said the economy recorded over $1.5 billion in foreign exchange (FX) inflow this month, indicating its monetary policy initiatives are effective.

The apex bank said the naira is headed in the right direction, and the administration of Yemi Cardoso, CBN governor, remains committed to ensuring the stability of the market and the appropriate pricing of the naira against other major currencies worldwide.

TheCable

Business

NNPC Denies Reducing Petrol Pump Price

Published

3 weeks ago

March 28, 2024

Eric

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited has declared that there is no plan to reduce the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) aka petrol and Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) aka diesel.

The national oil company disclosed this through a statement on Wednesday by its Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Mr. Olufemi Soneye.

He said: “The NNPC Limited wishes to clarify rumours suggesting a price adjustment for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel) at its retail stations nationwide.

“The company asserts that these reports are false and urges Nigerians to disregard them entirely.

“NNPC Ltd. reaffirms its commitment to sustaining the current sufficiency in petroleum products supply across all its retail stations in the country,” the statement added.