Imminent airports shutdown, Malami vs reps… seven business stories to track this week

Here are the seven top business stories you need to track this week — April 24 to April 28.

AVIATION WORKERS THREATEN TO SHUTDOWN AIRSPACE

Aviation union workers recently threatened to shut down Nigeria’s airspace, if the federal government fails to grant their requests by the end of a seven-day ultimatum issued to the government.

The ultimatum, which ends this week — Wednesday, April 26, 2023 — came after the union concluded their warning protest over poor working conditions.

The unions had raised concerns about the non-implementation of the national minimum wage, consequential adjustments and arrears for workers of the Nigeria Meteorological Agency since 2019.

They also rejected the planned demolition of aviation agency buildings in Lagos to pave way for an airport city project initiated by Hadi Sirika, minister of aviation.

ABUBAKAR MALAMI TO FACE REPS ON WHISTLEBLOWER FUND

Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation, has agreed to appear before a house of representatives ad-hoc committee investigating the alleged illegal sale of 48 million barrels of crude oil in 2015.

Malami will face the lawmakers on April 27,2023.

Last week, the house of representatives committee summoned Malami and Zaina Ahmed, the minister of finance, over an alleged payment of $200 million to two companies for “consultancy service”.

Mark Gbillah, chairman of the committee investigating the alleged loss of $2.4 billion revenue from the illegal sale of 48 million barrels of crude oil, said it received reports that Malami received funds outside the country through the whistleblower policy, but did not remit it to the federation account.

Gbillah also said a whistleblower informed the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) that Malami approved the payment of the $200 million to two private companies — Biz Plus and GSCL for “consultancy services.”

SUBSIDY: WORLD BANK WARNS OF INCREASED FISCAL, DEBT PRESSURES IN NIGERIA

The World Bank has warned that of increased fiscal and debt pressures in Nigeria, if petrol subsidy is not phased out in June 2023.

In its recently released report, titled, ‘Macro Poverty Outlook for Nigeria: April 2023’, the Bretton Woods institution said oil price booms previously supported the Nigerian economy, but the situation has changed since 2021.

The World Bank said macroeconomic stability has weakened amidst declining oil production, costly fuel subsidies, exchange rate distortions, and monetisation of the fiscal deficit.

The bank said the deteriorating economic environment has further pushed millions of Nigerians in poverty.

FG DROPS SUIT AGAINST SEPLAT

The federal government has withdrawn its lawsuit against Seplat Energy Plc.

The lawsuit was filed against the company and Roger Brown, the firm’s chief executive officer (CEO), at a federal high court in Abuja, over an alleged breach of extant provisions of the Immigration Act, 2015.

On March 3, 2023, the federal government had revoked the visa, resident permit, and work permit of Brown, following allegations bordering on racism by aggrieved stakeholders of the company.

Brown subsequently stepped down from his position after an ex-parte order stopped him from functioning as the CEO of the organisation.

NBS/WORLD BANK PREDICTS POSSIBLE DROP IN UNEMPLOYMENT RATE 

A World Bank/National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) study using the recent International Labour Organisation (ILO) guidelines for computing labour force statistics is set to reveal a sharp drop in Nigeria’s unemployment rate.

As at the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2020, the NBS said the country’s unemployment rate stood at 33.3 percent.

A source had told TheCable that the new methodology was designed to reduce errors, increase efficiency in the data collection process and improve data credibility.

The use of the new methodology is aimed at updating the nation’s labour force statistics in line with international best practices, and paint a more comprehensive picture of the country’s labour market.

FG CONCESSIONS ONITSHA PORT FOR 30 YEARS

The federal government says it has successfully concessioned the Onitsha port in Anambra, while plans are underway for the concessioning of other ports across the country.

Last Thursday, George Moghalu, managing director of National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), said with such licensing, there would be less pressure on the government, noting that it would also attract more revenue.

He added that discussions were ongoing for the concessioning of Baro port and as well as the Oguta and Lokoja ports, which are still under construction, in order to reduce pressure on the government.

AKINWUMI ADESINA TO SPEAK AT JAPANESE CONFERENCE

The African Development Bank (AfDB), Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives), and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) will host a special business event for Japanese business leaders on April 24, 2023.

The event will focus on “co-creating an investment ecosystem and business opportunities in Africa to achieve sustainable growth with strong partnership with Japan.”

As part of the programme, Akinwumi Adesina, AfDB president, will give a lecture, which will be followed by a panel discussion between distinguished speakers from Africa and Japan.