Business

Outrage As Aero Contractors Abandon Passengers’ Luggage To Shed Load

Published

4 years ago

October 11, 2021

There was outrage at the Margaret Ekpo Airport in Calabar on Sunday, after passengers from Abuja on an Aero Contractor flight found that the airline had deliberately abandoned their luggage before take off.

Airline officials had claimed that passengers were hinted that their luggage would not be flying with them but those affected insisted the airline abandoned their luggage in Abuja on purpose, allegedly to conserve aviation fuel.

Although it is not clear how that could have been possible, but other passengers at the airport claimed the luggage was deboarded in Abuja to make room for airlifting of aviation fuel, reportedly to be used for another flight via Calabar.

Passengers who spoke to DAILY POST, said Sunday’s incident was not the first time the airline was denying passengers of their luggage. Some claimed they had been frequenting the airline, days after their flights and were yet to get their bags.

“My luggage was cleared by FAAN alongside others and we even saw it at the foot of the airline while boarding, which was very deceptive of Aero. I was shocked and angry when I did not see my luggage at arrival here in Calabar. I was told my luggage will arrive tomorrow by 5:30 pm” one of the affected passengers, a journalist, Bishop Onche, lamented.

Nuel, another Abuja-Calabar passenger said, two days after his flight, he was back at the airport, again, to see if his luggage had arrived.

“We arrived here on Friday, they said the aircraft was overcrowded or something like that and they couldn’t carry our bags. So I left, then I came here on Saturday to claim it and they said there was no flight yesterday that’s why I am here today being Sunday only to meet a host of new passengers without luggage too.”

Nuel, a Sound Engineer, lamented that he had very essential work equipment in his luggage for a job he came to Calabar for and was not informed that his luggage would be dumped for that long to shed some weight off the aircraft.

He also decried the attitude of airline officials who allegedly were nonchalant at the plight of passengers.

“This is past 4pm and I have been here for the past one hour and nobody has said anything,” Nuel complained.

Udom Blessing Matthew, another passenger, told DAILY POST that she was in Calabar for a marriage ceremony but two days after the wedding she came to attend, a bag containing her bridesmaids’ dress was still at the airport in Abuja.

Udom said she arrived on Aero contractors 3.10pm flight on Friday, only to discover her luggage was left behind in Abuja.

“I left Abuja on Friday for a wedding which was supposed to hold on Saturday, the dress and hair I was supposed to wear at the wedding are in my luggage and this is Sunday I still haven’t gotten them. I’ve been wearing the same clothes and inner wear since Friday,” Udom cried profusely.

She claimed the airline treated its passengers with disdain as none of those affected had received either a call, a text message or an explanation as to why their luggage was abandoned.

But an Aero Contractors Manager in Calabar, Victor Dan, who spoke to our correspondent said he had called Abuja and was told that the bags would come in on Monday afternoon, however, after a follow-up inquiry, an affected passenger confided in our reporter that he was yet to receive his luggage.

A staff of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, (FAAN) in Calabar, stationed at the Servicom desk said she had recorded the incident and that a report would be sent to the office of the NCAA as it is the responsibility of the agency to sanction the airline.

An official of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), who simply identified himself as Bruno, said this was not the first time the airline had treated passengers in such a shabby manner.

Bruno explained that though shedding of weight on aircrafts was not new in aviation history, the NCAA Act mandates the airline in question to inform all the affected passengers before take-off.

“And even after take-off, the airline is expected to pay compensation to the affected passengers while ensuring that the luggage is taken to the passengers wherever or whatever address they make available,” Bruno said.

He asked passengers to fill the necessary complaints forms promising to follow up the matter and assured our correspondent that the NCAA would ensure that compensation is paid to affected passengers and their luggage delivered to them.

(DAILY POST)

Business

Naira Continues To Appreciate Against Dollar On Official Market

Published

2 days ago

August 1, 2025

Editor

The naira continued its appreciation against the dollar at the foreign exchange market on Tuesday.

Accordingly, the naira strengthened further to N1,533.18 against the dollar on Tuesday, from N1,534.21 traded the previous day.

This represents a gain of N1.03 against the dollar on a day-to-day basis and marks the second consecutive day of appreciation at the official FX market.

Meanwhile, on the black market, the naira depreciated further to N1,545 per dollar on Tuesday from N1,537 traded on Monday.

Recall that the naira had similarly closed Monday’s trading session with mixed sentiments, recording gains at the official market but depreciating at the parallel market.

Business

Dangote Refinery Gets New CEO

Published

2 days ago

August 1, 2025

Editor

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has appointed David Bird, the former head of Oman’s Duqm Refinery, as its new Chief Executive Officer.

A report by S&P global on Friday said, Bird heads the refinery’s petroleum and petrochemicals division in a strategic move to overcome production challenges and advance its next wave of expansion.

Effective from July 2025, the former Shell head of operations at its Balau Pokom refinery stepped in as CEO of the Dangote Group’s fuels and petrochemicals business, which commissioned the world’s largest single-train refinery last year.

Our correspondent also observed that the CEO participated at the just concluded Dangote Leadership Development Program Graduation Ceremony.

The appointment signals the company’s renewed focus on scaling production, streamlining operations, and positioning itself as a dominant force in Africa’s refining and petrochemical landscape.

The report read, “Nigeria’s Dangote Group has appointed the former head of Oman’s Duqm refinery as CEO of its petroleum and petrochemicals business as it strives to overcome production challenges and advance its next wave of expansion.”

It, however, noted that the Dangote Group founder Aliko Dangote, will remain as chairman of the refining business and CEO of the wider conglomerate, which is also active in cement, fertilizers and sugar refining.

The business is expected to tap Bird’s experience expanding the Duqm refinery and diversifying its crude slate as CEO of OQ8, a role he adopted months before the Omani complex began its first test runs in 2023.

Commenting on his appointment, Bird said his focus at Dangote will involve advancing the group’s footprint beyond the Nigerian market and across the African continent.

As CEO of the refining business, he will be responsible for ensuring maximum output and efficiency for the refinery, and aims to make the group a leader in the global market, a LinkedIn update noted.

The appointment comes after a string of unit upsets and “design issues” that have stalled the ramp-up process of the 650,000-b/d refinery, while its leadership has called out a hostile business environment for challenging its operations.

Since it was commissioned in January 2024, Dangote has quickly grown its market share in the Nigerian fuel sector, displacing large volumes of gasoline imports that the country once relied on.

However, Aliko Dangote has railed against “rent-seeking” trade partners and substandard fuel imports for putting strain on the business.

In a previous interview with Platts, Bird emphasised a trading-led approach to achieve a competitive edge in the refining sector, with a focus on high utilisation rates, efficiency and feedstock flexibility.

His approach aligns with a recent shift from the Dangote complex to process a wider range of crude grades, partially spurred by limited availability of the Nigerian oil it was designed to process.

However, the Nigerian refinery is still obliged to sell fixed volumes of its oil products into the domestic crude market under a naira-based trade agreement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, a 7.2 per cent stakeholder in the business.

As the Dangote Group eyes its next wave of growth, it plans to expand the capacity of the Lagos refinery to 700,000 barrels per day, build out port infrastructure and establish foreign storage assets in Namibia and other countries.

In August, it is set to roll out its own distribution business with a fleet of 4,000 CNG-powered trucks.

Dangote Group officials have also shared ambitions to list the refining business on the London and Lagos stock exchanges, and Aliko Dangote reiterated plans to take the business public.

After years of setbacks and budget challenges, the speed of the refinery’s ramp-up in 2024 caught many analysts by surprise, and the complex quickly began exerting pressure on global oil benchmarks as it began exporting its products.

Yet despite beginning test runs on its main gasoline outlet, the residue fluid catalytic cracker, in Q3 2024, the company has since suffered repeated outages on the unit in 2025, forcing it to rely on its lower-yield reformer and sacrifice output over extended periods.

Speaking to Platts earlier in July, a Dangote executive said the RFCC was running at 85 per cent. He denied reports that the company will undergo a planned turnaround on the unit in December.

According to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data, Nigeria exported some 220,000 b/d of petroleum products in July 2025, when outages at NNPC facilities made Dangote the country’s only active refiner.

The complex exported 30,000 b/d of residual fuel, a refining byproduct which would normally be kept on site for further processing in the RFCC under normal operations.

Exports continue to be dominated by jet fuel, which accounted for 45 per cent of total shipments, and gasoil with a 24 per cent share.

Business

Petrol Tankers To Stop Loading Beyond 45,000 Litres By October 1 – IPMAN

Published

2 days ago

August 1, 2025

Editor

The Western Zone of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria has said tankers will no longer load more than 45,000 litres of the product from October 1.

The Chairman of the zone, Chief Oyewole Akanni, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Ibadan on Friday.

Akanni stated that the measure was adopted in a joint meeting involving IPMAN, the government and other stakeholders, held to reduce the cases of petroleum tanker accidents.

The stakeholders, he said, are the Petroleum Tanker Drivers, Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority and oil marketers.

He said, “Before now, some tankers carried up to 90,000 or 60,000 litres, which was dangerous.

“Those big tankers damage our roads, as the trucks are made to carry far more than they were designed for.

“And when overloaded, they become unstable and fall, causing accidents.”

Akanni stated that the government had also mandated all tankers to install safety covers that prevent spillage in the event of a crash.

“With these covers, even if a tanker falls, fuel won’t spill, except if the tank is punctured,” he said.

He, however, lamented the activities of vandals, who deliberately puncture fallen tankers to steal fuel, describing it as a major challenge.

The IPMAN chairman also said that PTD discovered that most accidents occurred at night due to fatigue.

“We have, therefore, instructed drivers not to drive at night.

“Once it is 7.00 p.m., they must park and continue their journey by 7.00 a.m. the next day, but some still disobey this directive,” he said.

Akanni assured that IPMAN would continue to work with stakeholders to ensure that tanker-related accidents were minimised.

He said that the spate of fatalities had triggered federal interventions, calling for stricter regulations, mass education, and enforced safety reforms.

According to Akanni, the incidents form part of a broader wave of tanker disasters across Nigeria.

“These are marked by systemic failures, including overloading, poor infrastructure, inadequate enforcement, alongside dangerous public practices like fuel scooping,” he said.

NAN