Business

Airline Owners Give Update On Threat To Shutdown Flight Operations

Published

4 years ago

March 18, 2022

Local airlines under the aegis of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) have suspended their threat to shut down flight operations over the outrageous hike in the price of Jet – A1 fuel.

The Vice President of AON, Mr Allen Onyema, disclosed this in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos.

Recall that on March 15, AON had threatened to shut down their operations on Friday, March 18, if the government could not find a lasting solution for the marketers to reduce the JET-A1 price.

Onyema, the Chairman of Air Peace, told NAN that airlines collectively agreed to suspend the shutdown to avert further disruption in economic activities considering the key role air transportation plays in the logistic mix.

“We are not going to shut down flight operations because discussions are ongoing between us and the relevant players in the oil and gas value chain to find a lasting solution to the problem.

“We are negatively affected by the increasing price of aviation fuel, but as patriotic investors, we will not take any action that will paralyse the economy.

“As patriotic Nigerians and investors, we will continue to engage government and its agencies on the way out of this problem,” he said.

Onyema noted that the decision taken by the local carriers was a patriotic contribution to President Muhamadu Buhari’s led administration.

According to him, the administration is presently utilising every instrument by engaging stakeholders in the oil and gas and air transportation sectors to seek a permanent solution to the price hike.

The Air Peace chairman recalled that the Buhari-led administration had contributed immensely to the development of airlines operations in the country.

“Since the Buhari administration came on board, it has shown sufficient commitment to improving the aviation industry.

“The President signed an Executive Order that granted waivers on aircraft and its spares and other interventions, the least we could do is to continue to engage until challenges in the sector are resolved,” Onyema said.

He said the association considered very delicate the precarious situation of aviation fuel scarcity and increment in price as a development that could be exploited for political capital by players in the governance space.

Onyema, however, said the price hike was suffocating for local carriers to continue to operate flights under increasing costs regime, as they spend millions of naira to fill an aircraft with aviation fuel.

He said airline operators were presently considering scaling down on the number of flight frequencies to minimise the cost of operations.

Onyema said local carriers were not considering any further increase in airfares so as not to shut out ordinary Nigerians who desire to travel by air.

A NAN correspondent who monitored activities at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal II (MMA2) and General Aviation Terminal (GAT) terminals, reports that airlines are working and passengers are also boarding.

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Business

Fourteen Nigerian Banks Yet To Meet CBN’s Recapitalisation Ahead Of Deadline

Published

9 hours ago

November 27, 2025

Editor

No fewer than 14 Nigerian commercial banks are yet to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria’s recapitalisation requirement as the 31st March 2026 deadline inches closer.

This follows CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso’s announcement on Tuesday that sixteen Nigerian banks have met their recapitalisation requirement ahead of the apex bank’s March 2026 deadline.

DAILY POST reports that Cardoso disclosed this in a statement after the bank’s 303rd Monetary Policy Committee in Abuja.

According to Cardoso, the development indicates that there is financial soundness in the country’s financial banking system.

MPC had been urged by banks to ensure a successful implementation of the recapitalisation process.

“The committee noted with satisfaction the sustained resilience of the banking system, with most financial soundness indicators remaining within regulatory thresholds,” Cardoso said.

“Acknowledged the substantial progress in the ongoing recapitalisation programme, with 16 banks achieving full compliance with the revised capital requirements.

“The committee thus urged the Bank to ensure a successful implementation and conclusion of the programme, among other domestic developments,” Cardoso said.

This means that two additional Nigerian banks have been added to the list of banks which have complied with the apex bank recapitalisation requirement in the last two months.

Recall that Cardoso, in the 302nd MPC meeting, announced that only fourteen banks have met the recapitalisation requirement.

CBN records as of 2024 showed that the country has thirteen commercial banks, five merchant banks and seven financial holdings companies.

Earlier, a report emerged that Access Bank, Zenith Bank, GTBank, Wema Bank, Jaiz Bank, Stanbic IBTC, and others have already met CBN’s recapitalisation requirement.

CBN in March directed commercial banks with international authorisation to increase their capital base to N500 billion, while those with national licences must raise to N200 billion.

Business

CBN Retains Interest Rate At 27%

Published

2 days ago

November 25, 2025

Editor

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria has voted to retain the benchmark interest rate at 27 per cent.

CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, announced the decision on Tuesday following the apex bank’s 303rd MPC meeting in Abuja.

Cardoso stated that the committee also resolved to keep all other monetary policy indicators unchanged.

He noted that the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) remains at 45 per cent for commercial banks and 16 per cent for merchant banks, while the 75 per cent CRR on non-TSA public sector deposits was equally maintained.

Cardoso added that the Liquidity Ratio was retained at 30 per cent, and the Standing Facilities Corridor was adjusted to +50/-450 basis points around the Monetary Policy Rate.

The decision comes as Nigeria records its seventh consecutive month of declining inflation, which eased to 16.05 per cent in September 2025.

Business

CBN Issues Directive Clarifying Holding Companies’ Minimum Capital

Published

3 days ago

November 24, 2025

Editor

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has issued a definitive directive detailing how financial holding companies should calculate their minimum paid-up capital, following weeks of confusion that delayed the release of some banks’ half-year and nine-month financial statements.

In a circular dated November 14, 2025, the apex bank acknowledged “divergent interpretations” of the term minimum paid-up capital as stated in Section 7.1 of the 2014 Guidelines for Licensing and Regulation of Financial Holding Companies.

To eliminate ambiguity, the CBN ruled that minimum paid-up capital must be computed strictly as the par value of issued shares plus any share premium arising from their issuance.

“All Financial Holding Companies are required to apply this definition in computing their minimum capital requirement—without exception for subsidiaries,” the circular stated.

The regulator added that the directive takes immediate effect, noting that any previous interpretation that does not align with the new clarification “should be discontinued forthwith.”

The move is expected to calm market anxiety and provide clarity for lenders navigating ongoing regulatory capital requirements.