Business

Passengers, Arik Air Officials In Free-for-all Over Flight Delay

Published

3 years ago

July 10, 2022

It was a free for all at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Saturday morning as management of Arik Air, citing “operational reasons”, repeatedly rescheduled its Abuja – Benin flight from Thursday till yesterday when it finally airlifted passengers at 10AM.

Scuffle broke out Friday night between passengers and Arik Air staff with the former blocking the boarding gate, preventing any other flights from boarding.

It was gathered that passengers demanded that Arik Air adhere to stipulated travel regulations by putting them in a hotel since the flight was cancelled abruptly. However, the Arik Air team on ground said they could not meet the demand but promised to give affected passengers a 25 per cent discount on their next flight booking with the airline. The passengers rejected the offer.

Determined to make a statement , the passengers subsequently “detained” the Arik Air staff until their demand was met, prompting the intervention of military personnel and officials of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN.

Many passengers (many with young children) eventually slept overnight in the airport benches.

Saturday morning, the trouble continued with Arik Air again postponing the flight saying they were unable to get “aviation fuel” for the trip. Unable to bear another burden of delay, the passengers, in protest, stormed the ticketing office, preventing sale of tickets.

They were finally airlifted at exactly 10AM.

A passenger who spoke to Sunday Vanguard anonymously said, “the rubbish we take in this country is intolerable in other parts of the world. Why would a flight billed for Thursday takes off on Saturday? It is a shame this is happening at a time we are told they are implementing the aviation sector roadmap.”

Business

NNPCL Increases Fuel Price

Published

5 hours ago

August 5, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, has increased the pump price of premium motor spirit across its retail outlets.

It was gathered that NNPCL retail outlets in Abuja have adjusted their fuel pump price to N955 per litre from N890.

This is the case in NNPCL retail outlets along Kubwa Expressway, Wuse and other parts of Abuja.

Similarly, the pump price hike has been implemented at filling stations in Kogi and Nasarawa.

This means that the petrol pump price was increased by N65.

This comes after independent petroleum product marketers and filling station owners in Abuja increased petrol pump prices to between N950 and N971 per litre at the weekend. Their decision followed an upward review of the ex-depot petrol price by Dangote Refinery to N858 per litre, up from N820.

Business

Naira Appreciates Against Dollar As External Reserves Swell

Published

6 hours ago

August 5, 2025

Editor

The naira appreciated against the dollar at the official foreign exchange market on Monday to begin the week on a bullish note amid swelling external reserves.

According to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s exchange data, the naira appreciated to N1,531.95 against the dollar on Monday from N1,533.74 traded last week Friday.

This showed that the Naira strengthened by N1.79 when compared to the N1,533.74 exchanged at the close of work last week.

Meanwhile, at the black market, the naira remained stable at N1560 per litre, the same exchange rate traded on Friday.

The development comes as Nigeria’s external reserves had maintained a modest rise to $39.54 billion as of August 1st, 2025, up from $39.36 billion on July 30th.

Business

Naira Continues To Appreciate Against Dollar On Official Market

Published

4 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.