Naira gains N28.15 against dollar, trades N1,390/$

The Naira on Tuesday closed the month of April on a good footing as it gained N28.15 at the official market, trading at N1,390.96 to the dollar.

Data from the official trading platform of the FMDQ Exchange, a platform that oversees the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), revealed that the gain represented a 1.98 per cent appreciation for Naira.

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The percentage increase is significant when compared to the previous trading date on Monday, April 29.

The local currency experienced about two weeks steady fall by exchanging at N1,419 to a dollar.

The success story was replicated in the volume of currency traded, as the total daily turnover increased.

The daily turnover stood at 225.36 million dollars on Tuesday up from 147.83 million dollars recorded on Monday.

Meanwhile, at the Investor’s and Exporter’s (I&E) window, the Naira traded between N1,450 and N1,200 against the dollar.

Naira gains N28.15 against dollar, trades N1,390/$

NAN

Finally, Port Harcourt-Aba train service begins with four-day free ride

A four-day free train ride from Port Harcourt in Rivers State to Aba, Abia State will begin today, May 1, signifying commencement of rail service along the 62-kilometre route.
This is coming a month after the train operation on the rehabilitated narrow gauge track was initially meant to start.
Minister of Transportation, Senator Saidu Alkali, inaugurated the rail service in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.

Alkali said the project was part of the rehabilitation of 1,443km Port Harcourt to Maiduguri narrow gauge rail line.

He said that the Port Harcourt to Aba section of the project was the initial part of the Eastern narrow-gauge railway, aiming to connect five geopolitical zones of the country.

He said, “The Federal Government is pleased to inaugurate the train service from Port Harcourt to Aba, a key priority area of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
“We are grateful to God for the completion of the Port Harcourt to Aba section, which will bring succour to the people.
“The Eastern narrow gauge covers five geo-political zones of the country, including South-South, South-East, North-Central, North- West, and North-East,” he said.
Aba to Enugu rail is next
Alkali said following the completion of the first segment and the start of commercial operations of the rail service, the Federal Government would soon commence the construction of the Aba to Enugu rail project, linking the two states together.
He added that his ministry was working with investors to ensure the conversion of the locomotive across the country from diesel to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to reduce transportation costs further.
“Shortly, we will take a train ride from Port Harcourt to Aba, which means that from today, passenger train service has commenced.
“We will continue the project from Aba to Enugu and from Port Harcourt to both Onne and Port Harcourt seaports for freight services.
“The ministry is currently in discussion with an investor to convert our locomotive from diesel to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to reduce transportation costs further,” he said.
The minister assured Nigerians that arrangements were being made with security agencies to ensure adequate security along the rail routes.
He also announced free train rides from Port Harcourt to Aba between May 1 to May 4.
“The train will depart from Port Harcourt to Aba at 8am daily, while it will leave Aba to Port Harcourt at 3pm daily.
“Full commercial operations will resume on May 7, 2024,” he said.

Air Peace gets court order to answer queries on aircraft operations

A Lagos State High Court has ordered Air Peace to respond to questions brought by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism in a libel suit No. LD/ADR/4833/23 filed by the airline on October 12, 2022, regarding its aircraft operations from Lagos to Anambra State.

Air Peace insisted that it followed safety standards and practices in accordance with relevant regulations and policies.

It questioned the FIJ’s interrogations of its aircraft and flight operations, calling them “scandalous and irrelevant” to the libel case.

FIJ was dissatisfied with Air Peace’s responses to the queries and filed an application to compel them to adequately explain the objections.

Justice Kudiarat Jose upheld the argument of FIJ, represented by its counsel, Abimbola Ojenike and Jesulayomi Oyelami of Slingstone LP, stating that the questions requesting the details of the first two aircraft designated to convey passengers were relevant to the facts in issue, related to the defendant’s case, and capable of proving that the defendants were correct.

As a result, the court ordered Air Peace to respond to questions 1, 4, and 7 of the defendant’s interrogation within seven days of receiving the order.

The questions are: ‘Provide a comprehensive description and specification of the aircraft 5N-BUL initially scheduled for the operation of Flight P47336 on October 12, 2022. The description should include the make, year, engine type, and service information, including the most recent aircraft maintenance checks conducted prior to Flight P47336 on October 12, 2022, particularly but not limited to any faults or repairs on the systems.’

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The airline is also to: ‘Provide comprehensive specifications of the technical issues discovered in the course of operation of Flight P47336 and the circumstances that led to the change of the aircraft from 5N-BUL to 5N-BQQ.’

The court also ordered the airline to: ‘Provide the comprehensive descriptions and specifications of the aircraft 5N-BQQ initially onboard the passengers for the operation of Flight P47336 on October 12, 2022.

‘The description should include make, year, engine type, and service information, including the most recent aircraft maintenance checks conducted prior to Flight P47336 on October 12, 2022, particularly but not limited to any faults or repairs on the systems.

The claim was deferred until May 23, 2024, for additional proceedings.

In October 2022, FIJ stated that passengers on an Air Peace flight from Lagos to Anambra escaped death after the engine failed three times at the takeoff point.

According to FIJ, the aircraft was supposed to take off at 11 a.m. but was delayed for two hours when the airline’s management announced that the jet originally booked for the Anambra flight had suddenly acquired an issue.

“The engine stopped three times, and there was no explanation until passengers asked to be allowed to leave the plane. The captain only gave a vague explanation when the passengers expressed their concerns. He said the DAC or something similar to that went off on us,” FIJ had quoted one of three sources as saying.

“This was supposed to be a substitute plane as the first couldn’t be used for technical reasons. If this lackadaisical attitude continues, I fear they may record a crash soon. If we had flown today, we likely would have crashed.”

Air Peace then filed legal action against FIJ, seeking N50 million in damages, N250 million in aggravated damages, and N5 million in legal fees.

Air Peace gets court order to answer queries on aircraft operations