Author: Anthony Nlebem

BY MIKE OCHONMA

The National Auotomotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) is in talks with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to design workable solutions for automotive financing to make auto purchase affordable for Nigerians, Jelani Aliyu, director-general of NADDC has disclosed.

Aliyu gave the hint while making a presentation at the 9th Annual Transport Lecture organized by Transport Day Newspapers, with the theme: ‘Nigeria’s Transportation For Development; Sectoral Achievements, Prospects and Challenges’ which held in Abuja.

“We had a meeting with the CBN yesterday on auto financing. We want to work out a solution that would enable Nigerians buy new vehicles and pay over a period of six years” he said.

The NADDC boss said the move is part of the agency’s efforts geared towards promoting and enhancing value addition in the transport cum automotive sector of the economy by creating a conducive business climate to further enhance investment inflow and industrialization.

NADDC is rapidly shifting attention to carbonless transport system in Nigeria in a bid to develop and promote advanced transport technology in the automotive industry.

He said that this is because, vehicle electrification is inevitable, it is the future of automotive industry worldwide and we are working assiduously towards achieving its comprehensive and sustainable adoption in Nigeria.

“There is no gainsaying the fact that poor maintenance culture of vehicles in the transport sector contributes immensely to environmental pollution. The use of EVs that have advanced technology will not only curb these excesses but will also lead to more productivity in the industry.

“Currently, one of our top focus areas is scaling up production of applicable electric vehicles locally, to enable Nigeria meet its target for the Paris Accord and 2060 net zero commitment, both on reducing harmful gas emissions from vehicles” he said.

NADDC recently set up a Technical Committee on Electric Vehicle Development Plan aimed at drawing up a comprehensive development plan for vehicle electrification in Nigeria, towards the realization of full scale local production of multiple brands of applicable EVs that would be in tune with the economic structure of the country and to be supported by establishing effective ecosystem of charging infrastructure.

The plan would also ensure that made-in Nigeria EVs are of world standards and compete favourably in the global market.

“As a pilot scheme project, the NADDC has established 100% Solar Powered EV Charging Stations at Usman Danfodio University Sokoto, University of Lagos and University of Nigeria Nsukka and also discussing with other stakeholders for collaboration in establishing more charging infrastructure all over the country.

BY MIKE OCHONMA

The Ministry of Transportation on has charged state governments to key into developments of inland water transportation.

Ajani Magdalene Nwanwuche, permanent secretary, federal ministry of transportation, gave the charge at an event in Abuja.

She said that, the deployment of deep blue sea project for safety and secured shipping is a major achievement as well as increased public, private sector engagement in the development of world class facilities within the properties of the Nigerian Inland Water ways Authority (NIWA) in Lagos state. She encouraged other states to key into development of inland water transportation” she said.

President Muhammadu Buhari recognizes the importance of the transportation sector to the industrialization and diversification of the Nigerian economy, hence it leveraged the sector by reviving and rehabilitating existing transport infrastructure providing new ones as well as ensuring the development of professional capacity building for manpower to drive the sector.

According to her, transportation constitute a significant factor to national economic prosperity as transportation facilitates international and local trades, supports food security, generates employments, delivers energy and enables industrial and infrastructural development.

The ministry official also stated that the development of deep seaports, ports and the automation of the nation’s ports operations to facilitate the ease of doing business are the thoughts and evidence realities of the ministries for sector developments.

She concluded that the ministry of transportation is not deterred in its vision to evolve a world class transportation system in Nigeria.

By Sade Williams/business a.m.

Asaba Airport in Delta State is to receive an Automated Weather Observation System (AWOS), the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has assured.

The deployment by the agency comes as part of NiMet’s display of its unwavering commitment to climate and weather services across the country.

Assuring the Asaba Airport Company of NiMet’s commitment towards safety at the nation’s airports, the Mansur Matazu, director general of NiMet, said the agency pledges to further deepen and strengthen the existing relationship with the Asaba Airport Company in order to portray the essentials of Public Private Partnership, adding that the agency would liaise with the company through its already established committee to ensure the organisation’s provision of adequate support.

The above resolution by the NiMet management was predicated on an appeal by Christophe Penninck, managing director of the Asaba Airport Company, seeking for further technical assistance from the agency owing to the need identified at the Asaba Airport, Delta State.

Reiterating the outlook of support to be rendered, the director general explained that the agency will make plans to establish a pilot briefing room, provide necessary equipment, staff as well as the aforementioned installation of a generic automated weather observation station, amongst others.

In attendance at the event were Mailadi Yusuf, director of weather forecasting service; Bashir Sa’ad, director of engineering and technical services; Hamza Sanni, director of finance and account; and Effiom Oku, director of research and training.

By Sade Williams/business a.m.

Hadi Sirika, Nigeria’s aviation minister, said the high cost of Jet A1 in Nigeria is as a result of high demand for crude oil, the ongoing Russian-Ukraine crisis, and low capacity to refine Jet A1 around the world.

He said the federal government and the country’s carriers would have to reach a middle ground on how to stem the continuous hike in price of aviation fuel, urging the operators to cooperate with the government in resolving the crisis.

Sirika, spoke at the 7th Africa-Indian Ocean (AFI) Aviation Week in Abuja.

Nigeria also signed two Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with Sierra Leone and Rwanda for technical support to enhance the safety and security of civil aviation in the Africa Indian-Ocean region.

The MoUs were signed by Musa Nuhu, director-General, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), and representatives of the two countries at the opening ceremony of the 7th AFI Aviation Week in Abuja, Nigeria

Speaking on the fuel crisis, Sirika said, “There is huge demand and the population of the world is increasing. There is huge demand for these products. It is not peculiar to Nigeria. It is worse in other countries in terms of pricing and availability. So, it is something we have to live with and I am sure they understand that.

“If you continue to pass the buck to the passengers, you will kill the transportation business or you make the air transportation unattractive. A middle ground would have to be found and I am sure it would be found,” Sirika added.

He disclosed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited was going to look for a way to get the commodity through the oil majors or deep oil.

With that, he said, there would be less demand, leading to price stability, adding that the country was looking at ways to refine the commodity.

“When you have to bring it in from outside, there is the landing cost, the charges, taxes and that adds to the price of Jet A1.

“It is really biting around the world. We hope the airlines do understand this because what it is sold in Nigeria is not the highest in the world and they can attest to the government of Buhari that has been very impactful on their businesses because the number of airlines has doubled; that means we are doing the right things. I think the government is doing a lot for them just to mention a few in terms of support,” Sirika said.

By Sade Williams/business a.m.

Mathew Lawrence Pwajok, acting managing director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), has said that the agency is working hard to develop and publish Visual Flight Rule (VFR) charts locally.

Pwajok spoke at the 2022 World AIS Day in Abuja and said the agency has been collaborating with the Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation (OSGOF) for the past two years in order to obtain required and suitable data that will form the foundation or bedrock of the chart.

He expressed delight that NAMA experts have been able to produce some basic VFR charts prototype covering a very limited geographical area of Lagos which was being used as a benchmark to guide further expansion into the entire country in phases.

Pwajok said in order to strengthen the technical capacity and expertise, a team of four airspace planners, as well as a team of six cartographers, will be travelling overseas for more training in VFR chart production.

According to him, the additional knowledge will not only provide the VFR capability but will enable NAMA to delve into the development of world aeronautical charts and visual charts.

He remarked that an implementation team will be inaugurated with members drawn from the Aeronautical Information Management (AIM) experts that abound in NAMA for the implementation of the AIM

He said it was the determination of the management to ensure a smooth and successful transition of AIS to AIM, with a formal transition plan to be instituted.

“Without a formal transition plan, NAMA had in recent years undertaken some initiatives recommended by ICAO in the phased transformation of AIS to AIM while others were still at conceptual stages.

“Some of the elements already completed in the transition include, ICAO flight plan, Digitalised AIP, Digitalised charts, Conduct of WGS84 surveys, among others,” he explained.

Pwajok said NAMA management has continued to ensure that the technical and professional training programmes of AIM were conducted at NCAT without hindrance.

“The management has also approved a training course in Cairo for the acquisition of knowledge and skills in the development and production of VFR charts which is an agency and national priority.

“We are aware of other areas that training is urgently needed and required and steps are being taken by the management to address those that have not been covered so far,” he added.

He explained that the management has taken note of deficiencies and inadequacies in various stations across the country, and that it was already setting the machinery in motion for the resolution of these issues and the mitigation of some others.

According to him, AIS offices and units were fully covered in the rehabilitation drive to ensure a conducive working environment necessary for optimal performance by staff.

“NAMA is almost nearing the completion of the AIS Automation Project with the nodal installations in Lagos and Kano Airports as well as the training of the suitable personnel that are to manage the system on activation,” he added.

By Sade Williams/business a.m.

The Nigerian legislature, through the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation, is to carry out an ‘audit’ of foreign airlines operating into the country to find out how many Nigerians they have in their environment, such as cabin staff and technical crew including pilots and engineers.

Nnolim Nnaji, chairman of the house committee, stated that the audit would be done through the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, (NCAA), adding that, “if it is discovered that Nigeria is being shortchanged in any way we will not allow it.”

Nnaji, in a statement in Abuja said, “the parliament would also be interested in finding out the percentage of their tickets that are sold by local travel agents and at what commission.”

He noted that the country has been over generous to the airlines with unrestricted access to the Nigeria travel market which they must reciprocate by engaging indigenous pilots, engineers and licensed cabin crew into their technical staff.

“Most of the foreign airlines are granted multiple entries points into the country, so as representatives of the people we will be interested in knowing how such gestures reflect in our economy and labour force

“It is equally important that we know the percentage of their tickets that are sold by our local agents so that we ensure that what obtains in other climes are the same here,” Nnaji further stressed.

The House committee chairman emphatically stated that if it was found out that the foreign airlines were not engaging Nigerians as part of their technical and cabin crew, the committee would seek to correct it so that young Nigerian professionals could be employed.

By Sade Williams/business a.m.

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has advised pilots and airline operators to exercise caution over aviation hazardous weather in the rainy season.

In an advisory circular referenced, No. AC: NCAA-AEROMET–33, initiated by the Directorate of Aerodrome and Airspace Standards (DAAS), and addressed to all pilots and airline operators signed by Musa Nuhu, director general, NCAA, the authority said the rainy season, at outset, is usually characterised by severe thunderstorms and many other hazardous weather phenomena, such as severe turbulence, microburst, low level wind shear events that could affect the safety of flight operations.

The advisory comes on the heels of the seasonal climate prediction (SCP) released for 2022 by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET).

NiMET has predicted early to late March as the commencement of the rainy season across the southern states, while April/May and June, 2022 are the onset of the rainy season in central and northern parts of Nigeria.

The NCAA noted that the rainy season, at outset, is usually characterised by severe thunderstorms and many other hazardous weather phenomena, such as severe turbulence, microburst, low level wind shear events that could affect the safety of flight operations.

It urged all stakeholders to perform their roles as outlined in the advisory as follows:

Air Traffic Controller:

i. Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) may temporarily close the airspace when hazardous weather conditions such as severe thunderstorm, squall lines, microburst or level wind-shear are forecast by NiMET.

Pilots and Flight Crew/operators:

i. Flight crews/operators and ATCs shall ensure strict adherence to aerodrome operating minima.

ii. Pilots shall exercise maximum restraint whenever adverse weather is observed or forecast by NiMET.

iii. Pilots and flight crew members shall obtain adequate departure, en-route and destination weather information and briefing from NiMET aerodrome meteorological stations prior to flight operations.

In view of the above, operators are required to play a key role in ensuring adequate measures are put in place to lessen the effects of the attendant flight delays and cancellations on their passengers, occasioned by hazardous severe weather during the rainy season, in accordance with Nig. CARs, Part 19.

The NCAA advised passengers to exercise patience and understanding during this period, noting that their safety is of utmost importance, and that stakeholders should ensure strict compliance with safety regulations as violations would be viewed seriously.

BY ONOME AMUGE

Gold surged to its first weekly rise to record its strongest performance since the last week of March, buoyed by a weakened dollar and recession fears arising from a wavering global economy.

Spot gold was up 0.2 percent higher at $1,845.67 per ounce, after climbing about 1.9 percent in the previous session, while U.S. gold futures gained 0.1 percent to $1,842.70.

For the week, gold gained about 1.8 percent, recovering from 3-1/2-month lows posted earlier in the week.

Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar, which had hitherto yielded positive results, headed for its worst week since early February, with a global equities gauge set for its longest weekly losing streak on record amid investor worries about slowing growth and high inflation.

Analysts noted that the recent drawback in the dollar’s value strengthened investors’ demand for gold as the yellow metal is considered a safe haven in times of economic turmoil.

Xiao Fu, head of commodities markets strategy at Bank of China International, remarked that recession fears have grown more recently, with the volatility in equity markets leading to more interest in gold.

Fu added that a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobless claims data has also underlined the risks to economic growth.

In a note to Business A.M., Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA, observed that the trepidation in financial markets, which has shifted slightly from the pace of monetary tightening to recession risks, has lent support to gold.

“So rather than higher yields and a stronger dollar weighing on the yellow metal, we’ve seen investors pouring into safe havens which have lowered yields slightly and lifted gold,” he stated.

Erlam asserts that gold could see its fortunes improve further depending on how real and significant the economic fears become.

For other precious metals, silver was up 0.5 percent to $22.01 per ounce, gaining 4.4 percent for the week. Platinum added 0.2 percent to $964.71 per ounce, while palladium shed 0.3 percent to $2,0001.57 per ounce.

BY ONOME AMUGE

Copper extended its recovery towards a bullish range, underpinned by optimism about demand resurgence in China, the world’s largest consumer following a mortgage rate cut and gradual easing of Covid lockdowns in the East Asian country.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 0.8 percent to $9,490 a tonne, its highest value since the first week of May. The contract was also up 3.3 percent for the week. The most-active June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) gained 0.8 percent to 71,900 yuan ($10,774.60) a tonne.

Prior to this period, the red metal used in power and construction sectors and widely seen as a barometer of global economic growth, had stumbled by about 15 percent from early March to mid-May on worries about a downturn in China’s economy hitting metals demand and a possible recession in other major economies amid high inflation.

However, plans by Shanghai authorities to end a prolonged city-wide lockdown in the first week of June has triggered a positive sentiment for the copper market, with expectations of a strong demand after the lockdown.

Xiao Fu, head of commodity market strategy at Bank of China International, noted that there is a “step by step” plan for reopening in Shanghai, while the other parts of the country are recording good recovery from the pandemic.

“The situation seems to be under control now and the market is expecting a rebound,” Fu added.

Also lending support to copper’s rise is the report that China cut its benchmark reference rate for mortgages by an unexpectedly wide margin, its second reduction in 2022 as Beijing seeks to revive the ailing housing sector to prop up the economy.

Other base metals also moved in a bullish direction as aluminium settled 1.7 percent higher to $2,957 a tonne, zinc was up 0.8 percent to $3,743.50, lead rose 3.7 percent to $2,140 a tonne, tin climbed 1.8 percent to $34,850. On the other hand, nickel slipped 1.4 percent to $27,845 a tonne.

BY ONOME AMUGE

Cocoa futures moved into bullish territory in the last trading week of April as futures prices rebounded from the prolonged plunge in London and New York, supported by strong demand for cocoa-derived confectioneries and concerns that the below-average rainfall recorded in West Africa could be detrimental to the size and quality of the ongoing mid-crop and possibly the main crop of the 2022/23 cocoa season.

In reaction to this, London prices gained about $21 to settle at $2,200 per tonne, while prices in New York rose over $200 to sell at $2,650 per tonne.

Prior to this, the global cocoa market was generally bearish for most of April as prices of the nearby cocoa futures contract tumbled to a 4-month low at $2,179 per tonne in London and a 3-month low at $2,430 per tonne in New York, impacted by the four percent surge of the US dollar during the month under review.

Confectionery firms cash-in on cocoa demand surge

The International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO), in its April report, explained that increase in prices was more pronounced in the U.S as financial reports for the first quarter of 2022 indicated substantial increases in the sales revenues of US-based candy and chocolate confectionery products manufacturers such as Mondelez International and Hershey, indicating an improving demand for cocoa on that side of the Atlantic.

Although the global economy is facing significant inflationary pressures, worsened by the ongoing war in Ukraine, the first half of the 2021/22 cocoa season has so far witnessed a rebound in cocoa demand, with positive sales by major chocolate production firms reflecting chocolate’s irresistible attraction for consumers who are financially hard-pressed.

According to the ICCO, factors that have contributed to the increase in cocoa demand include the resumption of the air travel sector which is a major gateway for chocolate sales as well as resumption of seasonal festivities across the globe.

Positive quarterly earnings reports from major confectionery manufacturers for the period January–March 2022, revealed that confectionery, which includes chocolate sales, have risen and are heading or at par with that of pre-covid-19 period.

Nestlé, in its sales report, noted that sales in confectionery grew at a double-digit rate, with strong growth for KitKat and gifting products.

On its part, Mondelez, revealed that its chocolate and biscuit businesses continued to generate attractive revenue growth, strong profitability and robust cash flow.

Hershey reported that demand for confectionery products remained strong with retail sales growth of 8.1 percent.

Challenges await cocoa demand growth

Despite the demand uptick for cocoa in an increasingly volatile market, analysts familiar with the sector have expressed concerns that some factors may derail the positive trend.

They averred that despite Europe’s top position in cocoa processing, the continent relies heavily on Russia’s energy.

“Though efforts are being made to wean Europe from this dependency. Current high energy prices are prone to affect the operational cost of manufacturers, who are likely to turn the cost to customers,” ICCO noted.

There are also indications that investments in cocoa processing are likely to be affected as governments revert to increasing interest rates as a means to reduce the pace of rising prices, leaving consumers with no better option than shrink their spendings on confectioneries to focus on important expenses such as mortgages.

Shortfall in Ghana, Côte D’ivoire distorts global output

Information on crop sizes in main cocoa origin countries in West Africa suggests that the 2021/22 cocoa season is heading towards a global deficit of approximately 181,000 tonnes mainly due to a shortfall in overall production.

In Ghana, it is anticipated that the 2021/22 production will be nearly one-third less than the 2020/21 harvest, with the outbreak of swollen shoot disease and less conducive meteorological conditions, attributed as major factors for the production decline.

Less supportive meteorological conditions were also cited as a cause of the expected lower production in Côte d’Ivoire as the 2021/22 cocoa production is expected to be lower than the 2020/21 crop.

As at the first week of May 2022, cumulative arrivals of cocoa beans in the country were seen at 1.807 million tonnes, down by 3.2 percent compared to the volumes recorded in the same period of the previous cocoa year.