Headline

Flight Resumption To UAE: Fears As FG, UAE Agreement Places Nigerian Carriers At Disadvantage

Published

6 months ago

November 30, 2024

Two months after the Nigerian government changed the Bilateral Air Service Agreement, BASA, it had with the United Arab Emirates, UAE, there are growing concerns about how beneficial the new air pact will be to Nigerian airlines.

In September 27, 2024, ahead of Emirates flight resumption, the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, in a statement, said Nigeria had concluded reciprocal rights with UAE authority.

The Nigerian government also disclosed that it had set the foundation for a new BASA between both countries to ensure stronger and mutually beneficial aviation ties.

Meanwhile, the issues surrounding the agreement got interesting when a document seen by Vanguard revealed that the federal government may have put designated Nigerian carriers in a difficult situation as they may not enjoy level playing field with UAE airlines.

The 15-page document assessed by industry analysts showed that Nigeria, in uncertain terms, may have altered its aviation treaty with UAE from BASA to what analysts term Open Skies.

In the air transport sector, while BASA confines airline(s) to certain frequencies and destinations, ‘Open Skies’ permits airline(s) to fly on international routes freely and compete openly with one another for passengers.

What does the document entail?
According to the 3,915-word document, the Nigerian delegation that signed the agreement in Dubai on September 30, 2024, included Head of Delegation, Mr Festus Keyamo; Project Monitoring, Mr Issa Osagie; Director Air Transport Regulations Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Mrs Babaoye-Iriobe; Director of Operations Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Captain Abdullahi Mahmood; and Chairman of Airline Operators of Nigeria, Mr Abdullahi Ahmed.

Also, the UAE delegation included Head of Delegation, Deputy Director General & Assistant Director General, GCAA, Omar Bin Ghaleb; Senior Director of Air Transport Department, GCAA, Captain Khalid Humaid Al Ali; Expert Air Transport, GCAA, Mr Nasser Mubarak Al Khater;

Senior Lead Air Transport, GCAA, Ms Valerie Beowne; Lead Air Transport, GCAA, Mrs Jawaher Mohammed Al Abdouli; Senior Officer Air Transport, GCAA, Mr Fahad Abdulrahman Al Rais; and Senior Officer Air Transport, GCAA, Mr Hassan Ahmed Barman.

Titled: ‘Protocol Amending the Air Services Agreement between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates Relating to Air Services between and beyond their Respective Territories,’ UAE’s delegation, in the amended air agreement, re-confirmed their designation of Etihad Airways, Emirates Airline, Air Arabia, flydubai, Air Arabia Abu Dhabi and Wizz Air Abu Dhabi as designated airlines, and added that additional UAE airline(s) may be designated in due course by the aeronautical authority of the UAE.

Similarly, the Nigerian delegation re-confirmed their designation of United Nigeria Airlines and Air Peace as designated airlines, noting that additional Nigerian airline(s) may be designated in due course by the aeronautical authority of Nigeria.

On Principles Governing Operation of Agreed Services, Article 5 of the agreed pact states: “Each contracting party shall reciprocally allow the designated airlines of both contracting parties to compete freely in providing the international air transportation governed by this Agreement.

“There shall be no restriction on the capacity and the number of frequencies and/or type(s) of aircraft to be operated by the designated airlines of both contracting parties in any type of service (passenger, cargo, separately or in combination). Each designated airline is permitted to determine the frequency, capacity it offers on the agreed services.

“Neither contracting party shall unilaterally limit the volume of traffic, frequencies, regularity of service or the aircraft type(s) operated by the designated airlines of the other contracting party, except as may be required for customs, technical, operational or environmental requirements under uniform conditions consistent with Article 16 of the Convention.”

In Article 2, the agreement partly states: “The designated airlines of each contracting party shall enjoy the following rights: to fly across the Territory of the other contracting party without landing; to make stops in the Territory of the other contracting party for nontraffic purposes, and to make stops in the Territory of the other Contracting Party, for the purpose of taking on and/or discharging international traffic in passengers, baggage and cargo, separately or in any combination, while operating the agreed services.

“If because of armed conflict, political disturbances or developments or special and unusual circumstances a designated airline of one contracting party is unable to operate a service on its normal routing, the other contracting party shall use its best efforts to facilitate the continued operation of such service through appropriate temporary rearrangement of routes as is mutually decided by the contracting parties. The designated airlines shall have the right to use all airways, airports and other facilities provided by the contracting parties on a non-discriminatory basis.”

In addition, Section 1 of the agreement states that designated airline(s) of the UAE can operate from any point in the UAE to any point in Nigeria. For intermediate and beyond points, it states: “Any points.”

Section 2 of the deal states that designated Nigerian airline(s) can operate from any point in the UAE to any point in Nigeria. For intermediate and beyond points, it states: “Any points.”

On the operation of the agreed services, the revised deal says: “Designated airline(s) of both contracting parties are entitled to exercise, in any type of service (passenger, cargo, separately or in combination), full fifth freedom traffic rights to/from any intermediate or beyond point(s) without any restriction whatsoever.

“Designated airline(s) of both contracting parties are entitled, either as operating carrier or marketing carrier, to exercise own stopover rights at any intermediate point(s) and/or beyond point(s), as well as at points within the Territory of the other contracting party. For services within the Territory of the other contracting party, these rights are to be exercised without cabotage.”

Contacted to evaluate the air pact, a senior official faulted it, asserting: “This appears like an Open Skies.”

Speaking to Vanguard on the condition of anonymity, he explained that when a country’s airlines cannot compete with mega carriers, they are protected.

The official said: “You don’t open your market when you cannot compete. What everybody does is to first protect their market and let it grow. Here in Nigeria, our airlines are dying because they are not economically viable, yet you are now telling people (UAE carriers) to fly into any part of the country. That’s not protecting your own. You must try to protect your own.”

Also speaking to Vanguard, an industry analyst questioned the rationale behind such an agreement, saying: “Nigeria is a signatory to the Single African Air Transport Market, SAATM. Yet, you are not giving African airlines fifth freedom. You are giving it to UAE carriers. Our airlines should be fighting this thing. Why are they keeping quiet?”

The analyst, who didn’t want his name in print, also noted that the representative of the Airline Operators of Nigeria, AON, at the meeting was not the AON president.

“Why is somebody sitting on a bilateral agreement bearing the name of president when he is not the president of the AON? What is going on here? That is a very serious issue,” he insisted.

Explaining the fifth freedom, an industry analyst, who didn’t want to be named, told Vanguard: “If given fifth freedom, a country’s airline(s) can make a pit stop and carry passengers while on its way. What it means is that you have eroded the local market. Let us say a UAE carrier is coming from Accra or Niger, what it will do is to go to Kano, pick passengers.

“It will go to Port Harcourt, pick passengers. Without making a final stop, it will go to Lagos and pick passengers. It is a right for flight beyond. Fifth freedom is granted, but granted in a situation where your carriers are very strong.

“Already, our carriers cannot even compete with Emirates and other Middle East carriers. So, what they will do is to clean the market here. They can deploy two flights daily from Accra to just clean the market. They do not even need to start operating to Nigeria. Although five of our airlines, like theirs, can go to the UAE if they like, do we have the capacity? We have put UAE airlines at an advantage over ours.”

Meanwhile, an industry observer, who spoke to Saturday Vanguard in confidence, called for a review.

According to him, the country will start seeing the effect of the deal when flydubai and Etihad begin operating to Nigeria.

He said: “It is when these airlines start coming that we will begin to see the serious effect because they will clean the market. However, agreements are bound to be renegotiated. If a party feels that it is short-changed or it is not getting any benefit from it, they can come for a review. There is no permanent agreement. Agreements are reviewed as time goes on. We can do that.”
VANGUARD

Headline

Trump Orders Inquiry Into ‘Conspiracy’ To Hide Biden’s Health Decline

Published

1 day ago

June 5, 2025

Editor

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered an investigation into what Republicans claim was a “conspiracy” to cover up Joe Biden’s declining cognitive health during his time in the White House.

The move, which was slammed by Biden, is the latest in a long-running campaign by Trump — with the backing of Republican Party politicians and their cheerleaders in the conservative media — to discredit his predecessor.

But it also comes as a growing chorus of Democrats begin to acknowledge the former president appeared to have been slipping in recent years.

Those concerns were thrown into stark relief by a disastrous debate performance against Trump during last year’s presidential campaign, in which the then-81-year-old stumbled over his words and repeatedly lost his train of thought.

“In recent months, it has become increasingly apparent that former President Biden’s aides abused the power of Presidential signatures through the use of an autopen to conceal Biden’s cognitive decline,” a presidential memorandum issued Wednesday reads.

“This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history.

“The American public was purposefully shielded from discovering who wielded the executive power, all while Biden’s signature was deployed across thousands of documents to effect radical policy shifts.”

– ‘Ridiculous and false’ –

Biden vehemently denied the allegations.

“Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations,” he said in a statement shared with AFP.

“Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false,” he said, slamming the ordered probe as “nothing more than a distraction by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans who are working to push disastrous legislation.”

Republicans have long claimed that Biden was suffering from intellectual decline even as the White House pressed ahead with major legislation and presidential decrees during his term.

They cite his infrequent public appearances, as well as his apparent unwillingness to sit for interviews as evidence of what they say was a man incapable of doing the demanding job of Commander-in-Chief of the United States.

They insist that those around him covered up his physical and cognitive decline, taking decisions on his behalf and using a device that could reproduce his signature to allow them to continue to run the country in his name.

– ‘Autopen’ –

“The Counsel to the President, in consultation with the Attorney General and the head of any other relevant executive department or agency… shall investigate… whether certain individuals conspired to deceive the public about Biden’s mental state and unconstitutionally exercise the authorities and responsibilities of the President,” the document says.

The probe will also look at “the circumstances surrounding Biden’s supposed execution of numerous executive actions during his final years in office (including) the policy documents for which the autopen was used (and) who directed that the President’s signature be affixed.”

Biden’s calamitous debate performance ultimately sank his bid for reelection, with key Democratic Party figures soon calling for him to drop out of the race.

But it was only several weeks later, after unsuccessful attempts to quieten his critics, that he withdrew, anointing his vice-president Kamala Harris, who eventually lost to Trump.

The Democratic Party is increasingly riven by squabbles about whether Biden could have been forced to step down earlier to give the party chance to find a more popular presidential candidate.

Biden’s former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday criticized the in-fighting by the Democrats, calling it a “betrayal” of Biden and announcing her departure from the party as a result.

The fight has been given oxygen with the publication of a book by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson that claims the former president’s inner circle connived to keep him from public view because of his decline, which included forgetting familiar faces like Hollywood star and party stalwart George Clooney.

Trump’s claims of a cover-up were also boosted by news that Biden is suffering from an “aggressive” prostate cancer, with some voices on the right insisting — without evidence — the diagnosis must have been known some time ago to those close to the former president.

AFP

Headline

Nigerian Dies In Swiss Police Custody, Authorities Launch Probe

Published

1 day ago

June 5, 2025

Editor

The Switzerland authorities said they have begun an investigation into the murder of Michael Ekemezie, who reportedly died in Lausanne on May 25 after some Swiss police officers pinned his head to the ground during a routine check.

According to the family, the 39-year-old Ekemezie from Mgbakwu, Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State, reportedly collapsed and died at the police station less than an hour after being taken into custody.

The elder brother of the deceased, Henry Ekemezie, had in an interview with our correspondent on Monday, disclosed that his brother was chased by the police during a routine check, after he was caught up, handcuffed and pinned face-down, by an officer who used brutal force that proved fatal.

A viral video that circulated on X also showed the moment the deceased was pinned to the ground by a Swiss police officer, crying out in pain and shouting, “You’re hurting me.”

As a result, the family of the deceased, through their counsel, Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, petitioned the Embassy of Switzerland in Nigeria and the Nigerian Diaspora Commission on May 30, 2025, demanding an investigation into his death.

The family lamented that since the incident took place, neither the Switzerland government or the Federal Government of Nigeria had reached out to the family.

However, in a reply dated June 4, 2025, the Swiss Embassy contacted the family of the deceased through their counsel, informing them that the competent prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death.

The reaction by the Switzerland embassy is coming after the report featured in the South-East Punch on Wednesday.

The letter dated June 4, 2025, and signed by the Chargé d’Affaires of Switzerland, Siamak Rouhani, was made available to newsmen on Wednesday,

The letter read, “The Embassy of Switzerland acknowledges receipt of your letter dated 30 May, 2025.

“The Embassy would like to inform that the competent prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into the death of a person of African origin on May 25, 2025, at a police station in Lausanne, Switzerland.

“The results of this investigation are pending. In accordance with the principle of separation of powers and of the protection of personal data, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not hold any information concerning ongoing cantonal proceedings and cannot interfere in them.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, therefore, has no information concerning the circumstances of this tragic event. The deceased’s family and its agent – supported by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in Bern – can therefore interact directly with the competent cantonal authorities.”

However, in its reaction, the family of the deceased, through their legal counsel, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, acknowledged the response of the Swiss Embassy while reiterating with unwavering resolve a demand for a thorough, transparent, and expedited investigation.

“On May 30, 2025, we submitted a formal petition to the Embassy of Switzerland in Nigeria, urging an immediate and transparent investigation into the tragic and deeply disturbing death of Mr Michael Ekemezie, a Nigerian citizen who lost his life after reportedly being brutalised by Swiss police officers in Lausanne, Switzerland, on May 25, 2025.

“Today, we acknowledge receipt of an official response dated June 4, 2025, signed by the Chargé d’Affaires, Mr Siamak Rouhani. In the correspondence, the Embassy confirmed that the competent cantonal prosecutor’s office has formally launched an investigation into the incident. However, invoking Switzerland’s strict data protection laws and constitutional principle of separation of powers, the embassy declined to disclose further details at this stage.

“While we take note of this official acknowledgement and the initiation of investigative proceedings, we remain deeply concerned about the lack of transparency and the continued silence surrounding the exact circumstances of Mr Ekemezie’s death. A young Nigerian life was lost, under suspicious and distressing conditions, while in the custody of a country that proudly upholds itself as a global advocate of human rights, justice, and the rule of law.

“This is not just a legal matter; it is a human tragedy. A mother grieves. A family mourns. A nation watches with bated breath.

“Justice must not be shielded behind bureaucratic procedures. It must not be delayed. And it must never be denied. We urge the Swiss government and all relevant authorities to fully cooperate with the government of Nigeria and the legal representatives of Mr Ekemezie’s family, and every diplomatic and legal channel must be pursued. The truth must be uncovered. Accountability must be served,” the family said in a statement.

Headline

Trump Bans Citizens Of Chad, Congo, 10 Others From Entering US

Published

1 day ago

June 5, 2025

Editor

President Donald Trump has signed a new proclamation barring citizens from 12 countries from entering the United States, citing national security concerns.

The full travel ban affects nationals from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

The restriction will take effect on June 9, 2025.

In addition to the full bans, the proclamation imposes partial restrictions on citizens of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

There are some exemptions, including athletes travelling for major sporting events, some Afghan nationals and dual nationals with citizenship in unaffected countries, according to the BBC.

Trump stated that the measure is intended to prevent individuals considered potential security risks from gaining entry into the US.

“We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen,” he said in a video message posted on X on Wednesday.

According to the White House, the countries facing the harshest restrictions were deemed to have a “large-scale presence of terrorists,” poor cooperation on visa-related security measures, and inadequate systems for verifying travelers’ identities.

The administration also cited issues such as poor record-keeping of criminal histories and high visa overstay rates as contributing factors.

The new directive builds on Trump’s broader immigration crackdown initiated at the beginning of his second term.

On January 20, the president signed an executive order mandating stricter security checks for foreign nationals and instructing federal agencies to review which countries should face entry suspensions due to inadequate vetting procedures.

This move echoes Trump’s controversial travel ban during his first term, which initially targeted seven predominantly Muslim countries and was upheld by the US Supreme Court in 2018.

The ban was later repealed by President Joe Biden in 2021, who described it as “a stain on our national conscience.”