Business

Foreign Airline Commits To Remaining Nigeria’s Premium Carrier

Published

2 years ago

April 3, 2024

An International Airline based in the United States, the Delta Air Lines, has renewed its commitment to remain a premium carrier of choice for Nigeria passengers as air traffic continues to grow across countries after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The airline’s Director of Sales, Incharge of Europe, Middle East, Africa and India, Paul Hassenstab, disclosed this during his recent visit to Nigeria alongside some top executives of the Atlanta-based American carrier.
Delta flies to top destinations in Africa and recently marked its 17 years of operating non-stop scheduled flights to Nigeria, the continent’s biggest economy.
Flying to over 275 destinations worldwide, the Atlanta-based Sky Team alliance member carried over 200 million passengers in 2023.
According to the Delta sales Director, the US carrier will remain a premium carrier of choice and will not renege from its dedication to the Nigerian community it is serving.
“I think we want to continue to be the premium carrier of choice for Nigeria. That is the commercial side of it. We also want to be committed to the community in Nigeria”, Hassenstab said
While passengers are looking forward to Delta extending its services to key Nigerian cities like Abuja and Port Harcourt, Hassenstab believes Delta’s current priority is to continue to give passengers the best services on the Lagos route.
He said, “Right now, our primary goal is to make our daily service work for us. We love to expand our operations. If you look at Delta, in terms of the wide-body airplanes that we operate, today, we have roughly 165 wide-body aircraft that we deploy to all around the international stations around the world.
“We just placed a new order with Airbus a couple of weeks ago with new A350-900s and 1000s and also A350 Neo which we equally have taken delivery of and I think that will give us the opportunity to expand as the business case in each market but today, our focus is making things work for us”.
Delta Air Lines views competition as a good thing for any market, according to the Sales Director.
United Airlines, which is Delta Air Lines’ close rival on the Nigeria route, flies between Lagos and Washington DC.
Chicago-based United Airlines suspended flights to Nigeria in June 2016 due to a foreign exchange crisis in the country. In December, the US airline resumed flights to join Delta on the Lagos route.

Two Nigerian carriers – Air Peace and United Nigeria Airlines, have indicated interest in launching flights to the United States.

Hassenstab, however, stressed that Delta Air has operated uninterrupted flight services into the Nigerian market in the past 17 years, and is not afraid of competition, noting that the Atlanta-based carrier will continue to serve the country’s finest flight services.

“We don’t fear competition, competition makes us better. They make people better”, he said, adding that the US carrier “would continue to build on its next-generation airport experience in its Atlanta hub.

“Delta has built an impressive legacy in its several decades of operations. We are going to be 100 years old next year. We were born in 1925. We look forward to celebrating it. It is a testament to the service. That stands out. We have a model that takes care of customers and that makes customers come back”.

Delta operates the Nigerian route seven times a week, offering 3100 seats, adding that the carrier was committed to renewable fuel as a premium global airline.

“We have shown commitment to Sustainable Aviation Fuel. We have 10 per cent of our fuel consumption to sustainable aviation fuel. In the long term, we are looking at hydrogen power which is much longer term. We are very much committed to reducing carbon emissions by 2050. We will get in there step by step by investing through partnerships”, he added.

Business

Boat Mishap Kills Pastor, Wife And Church Members In Brass Water

Published

2 days ago

May 18, 2026

The Tide

A boat accident in Bayelsa state has killed a serving Pastor, Wife and other church members along Brass waterways

The sad incident happened at Odioama in Brass local government area of Bayelsa State when the Pastor, wife and members of his church were in a programme.

?Tide confirmed that the lifeless body of the Pastor’s wife has been found and deposited in a mortuary while the remains of her husband ,the Pastor is yet to be recovered

as search party are still ongoing.

Although the real cause of the boat Mishap is not yet known as at the time of this report, our Correspondent gathered that the identities of the Pastor, wife and church members were not disclosed to the public.

The mishap, Tide gathered occurred on Friday morning when the church members were on a boat transit

The Bayelsa State government and the state police command are yet to issue official statement’s on the sad accident

By: CHINEDU WOSU

Business

Rivers Workers Seek Scrapping Of Contributory Pension Scheme

Published

2 days ago

May 18, 2026

The Tide

The Rivers State Council of Nigeria Civil Service Union has called on the State Government to urgently scrap the contributory pension scheme, describing it as unfavourable to long-serving civil servants in the state.

Chairman of the union, Chukwuka Osuma, said this in an interview with newsmen in Port Harcourt, recently.

Osuma said the current pension structure has continued to worsen post-retirement hardship for workers.

He noted that the contributory pension scheme had failed to provide adequate retirement security for workers who had spent many years in service, especially those approaching retirement age.

According to him, civil servants who had served for more than 20 years were among the worst affected under the scheme, insisting that many retirees could no longer cope with prevailing economic realities.

He also informed that the Union has made moves to showcase their concerns, pleading with Governor Siminalayi Fubara to abolish the pension policy and introduce a more favourable arrangement for affected workers.

“The union was not opposed to pension reforms, the contributory scheme should only apply to newly employed workers or those with fewer years in service”, he said.

Osuma explained that workers who had already spent decades in the civil service ought to remain under a more secure pension structure capable of guaranteeing stability after retirement.

The labour leader further noted that inflation and the rising cost of living had continued to erode the value of retirement savings, thereby increasing the suffering of pensioners across the country.

He also appealed to the state government to consider extending the years of service in the civil service from 35 to 40 years and the retirement age from 60 to 65 years.

Osuma argued that such adjustment had become necessary in view of present-day economic realities and changing conditions in the workplace.

The unionist also reviewed that similar policies had already been adopted in some sectors and jurisdictions, expressing optimism that the State could also implement the reforms for the benefit of workers.

He however, commended Governor Fubara for approving an N85,000 minimum wage for workers in the state, noting that the amount was above the national benchmark of N70,000.

Osuma also acknowledged the government’s efforts in the area of workers’ promotions and bonuses, but insisted that pension reforms and extension of years of service remained critical to the long-term welfare and stability of civil servants in Rivers State.

By: King Onunwor

Business

FG Begins South-West Tour To Promote New Cooperative Bank

Published

1 week ago

May 13, 2026

The Tide

The Federal Government has launched the South-West zonal engagement and ministerial advocacy tour on the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria share capital mobilisation, sensitisation and cooperative sector digitalisation.

Reports say the initiative was launched through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.

According to reports, the advocacy tour, organised by the ministry’s Federal Department of Cooperatives, began on Monday in Lagos.

Speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security and Supervising Minister of Cooperative Affairs, Dr Aliyu Abdullahi, said the initiative was part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Abdullahi described the exercise as a strategic effort to reposition the cooperative sector as a key driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security and national prosperity.

“Today represents a defining moment in our collective determination to reposition the cooperative sector as a major driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security and national prosperity,” he said.

The minister noted the modern cooperative movement in Nigeria originated in the South-West following the 1934 Strickland Report, which led to the enactment of the Cooperative Societies Ordinance of 1935.

According to him, the decision to commence the sensitisation and share capital mobilisation tour in the region is symbolic, as it marks a return to the roots of cooperative development in the country.

Abdullahi said the advocacy tour was a direct outcome of resolutions reached at the 8th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Cooperative Affairs held in Abuja in March 2026.

He said the council approved the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme, a comprehensive framework designed to strengthen the cooperative sector and align it with the administration’s goal of building a one-trillion-dollar economy.

“The reform programme focuses on seven strategic pillars, including governance reforms, cooperative financing and the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria, digitalisation, capacity building, value chain development, inclusion of youths, women and persons with disabilities, and strategic partnerships,” he said.

He said the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria and the digitalisation of the cooperative sector were the two major transformational initiatives under the programme.

“The Cooperative Bank of Nigeria is aimed at rebuilding a strong cooperative financial system capable of supporting cooperators, farmers, artisans, traders, SMEs, youths, women and persons with disabilities with accessible and affordable financial services,” he said.

Abdullahi emphasised that the proposed bank would be government-enabled but not government-funded.

“Government is not establishing the bank as an owner, nor will it rely on Treasury Single Account funds.

“The role of government through the FMAFS is to provide policy support, stakeholder coordination, regulatory facilitation and an enabling environment under the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme,” he said.

Also speaking, the Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Mrs Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to cooperative sector transformation.

She described cooperatives as critical tools for promoting inclusive growth, grassroots productivity, food security, financial inclusion and community wealth creation.

Ambrose-Medebem said Lagos State would continue to support reforms and collaborate with stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme (2025–2030).

“Together, let us build a cooperative ecosystem that is modern, transparent, digitally enabled, financially inclusive and globally competitive.

“Let us build cooperatives that not only mobilise savings, but also mobilise prosperity,” she said.