Business
FAAN To Become Financially Independent By 2015
The Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr George Uriesi, has said in Abuja that the organisation would be financially self-reliant by 2015.
Uriesi, who had managed airports in South Africa before returning to Nigeria, said that FAAN was striving to be self-reliant in order for it to stop depending on the Federal Government for its finances.
According to him, the FG has given a directive for the authority to be self-reliant instead of depending solely on it for its finances.
Uriesi also said that FAAN had written off some of the bad debts owed it by some dead airlines in order to enable it to have a straight record on its balance sheet and forge ahead in the development of the aviation sector.
He said that the authority would from now on, not tolerate debts, adding that it would chase after its debtors aggressively to ensure growth of the business.
“Over the years, FAAN operated from a government, public service point of view and therefore, bent over backward and allowed many of its customers to owe it and also did not chase after them as aggressively as a business ought to; that shows that it depends on the revenue it gets for it to survive.
“Right now the Federal Government invests in FAAN’s capital projects because the organisation is not able to generate money to take care of its bills and still invest in capital expenditures, so the capital comes from the Federal Government.
“But we are saying that by 2015, the investment that the government has made now in the remodelling will begin to yield the returns that will allow us to invest from our balance sheet in the future, instead of asking government to come and invest when we need to build infrastructure or purchase very expensive equipment.
“So by 2015 FAAN is going to be fully independent and self reliant financially.’’
Uriesi also said that FAAN needed to recover monies owed it to clear the debtors’ notion that the agency was a government-owned organisation that could not be bothered about who owed it what.
He stressed that the non-aeronautical revenue services the authority provided included commercial offerings like restaurants, shops, hotels, bank facilities, and other kinds of businesses that go on within the airport environment.
Uriesi said that FAAN had been on aeronautical revenue for about 90 per cent of its income, but that it was poised to change the regime to include non-aeronautic commercial offerings.
Aeronautical revenue according to him is the money FAAN earned from the landing and parking of airplanes and passengers service charge.
He explained that revenue generated from both aeronautical and non-aeronautical services at airports across the country was enough for the organisation to be self-reliant if properly it managed.
“What we are doing now is maximising the non-aeronautical revenue potential of FAAN, for example in all the airports that we are remodeling, we are now designing them to maximise the commercial offering.
“So in airports like Benin, Owerri, and Enugu, what you will have after the remodelling is four times more commercial offerings than they were before the remodelling.
“The Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMA) which is the flagship which is about plus or minus 80 per cent of FAAN’s revenue, it will generate a lot of revenue for the orgnanisation.
“But then because of the emphasising of commercial offering at all the other airports, we will reduce the dependency on the MMA across the network of the airports; with every airport becoming more viable or less dependent, FAAN becomes much more financially solvent and stable.
For officers and men of the Western Marine Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the battle is not over until smuggling is over.
In the wake of Wednesday May, 8, 2024, the ever vigilant officers, acting on a tip-off, intercepted 177 sacks and 61 kegs of 25 litres containing petroleum products, valued at about N8.750,000million.
The items were intercepted along Isalu Creek, Badagry Waterway en-route Benin Republic.
While briefing newsmen, the Command’s Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Paul Bamisaiye, said: “This seizure is most economically significant to the Command at this period of scarcity of Petroleum Products, especially Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in our cities, and shows the anticipatory posture in our response to economic saboteurs.
“At about 2:330hrs on Wednesday 8th May 2024, while on joint patrol by teams in the Command, credible intelligence was received of the movement of 2 boats laden with what was suspected to be petroleum products concealed in sacks. Upon receipt of the information, the team moved into Isalu creeks, Badagry waterway.
“On sighting the approach of the Officers, the smugglers took to their heels through the shore of the Creek. The loaded boats were then towed to the station at Badagry where preliminary examination was conducted and transferred to Western Marine Command Headquarters, Ibafon, Apapa, Lagos.
“Careful examination at the Command Headquarters revealed that the arrest was found to contain One Hundred and Seventy Seven (177) Sacks and Sixty One (61) Kegs of 25 Litres Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) containing Twelve Thousand Five Hundred (12,500) Liters with a total Duty Paid Value standing at Eight Million Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira (N8,750,000) only”.
Bamisaiye noted that the action of the smugglers is a contravention of Section 245 & 254 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023 which the service, through Western Marine Command, is responsible for enforcing.
“The Command, under the leadership of Compt. PK Bamisaiye, is poised more than ever to rid the waterways of all acts of smuggling and economy sabotage for the benefit of the growth of economy of Nigeria”, he said
Bamisaiye said so far, no suspect was arrested in the Command’s anti-smuggling operations.
Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
Petroleum products being sought by motorists have disappeared from virtually all filling stations within Lagos and its environs, but are now booming in business in retail outlets.
Investigations by our correspondent revealed that while the product could not be got at some of the petrol service stations, activities are in top gear in the local retail outlets where the price has gone beyond the reach of users.
It was also gathered that in some filling stations supplied with the products, preference are often given to retail outlet operators by petrol attendants against the consuming public.
A source, directly involved in the business, said some petrol dealers are cashing on the irregular supply to divert the products to retail outlets where they could easily make their gains.
It was also gathered that some sales representatives in the service of major oil marketing firms indulged in the diversion exercise because of their personal interest.
At the retail outlets a liter goes for N950,00 against the normal N760,to N800 at some stations.
Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
The Nigeria Customs Service Board (NCSB) has confirmed the appointment of five Deputy Comptroller-Generals (DCGs) and eight Assistant Comptrollers-General (ACGs) of Customs during its 59th regular meeting.
The meeting, chaired by the Honorable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, was held at the Nigeria Customs Service Headquarters in Abuja last Tuesday.
National Public Relations Officer of the Service, Chief Superintendent of Customs, Abdullahi Maiwada, who disclosed this in a statement yesterday, gave details of the confirmed appointments as: O.O. Peters (DCG /Commander, Training and Doctrine Command (rtd); B.M. Jibo (DCG Enforcement Inspection & Investigation); and B.U. Nwanfor (DCG Excise, Free Trade Zone & Industrial Incentives).
Others are: S.A. Bomia (DCG, Commander Training and Doctrine Command); and C.K. Niagwan (DCG, Tariff & Trade).
The Assistant Comptrollers General (ACGs) are: B. Imam (ACG Board); A.A.S. Oloyede (ACG, Trade & Tariff); S.K. Dangaldima (ACG/Zonal Coordinator, Zone ‘B’); A. Abdul Azeez (ACG/Zonal Coordinator, Zone ‘D’); S.A. Yusuf (ACG, Human Resource Development); N.P. Umoh (ACG, Training and Doctrine Command); C.O. Obih (ACG/Zonal Coordinator, Zone ‘C’); and S. Chiroma (ACG, Strategic Research and Policy).
The new appointments, according to the statement, were made to fill the vacancies created by some senior officers who recently retired from the Service, noting that the principles of federal character, seniority and merit guided the appointments approved by the board.
“These appointments are a testament to the officers’ exemplary services and dedication to the Nigeria Customs Service. The NCSB remains committed to providing strategic leadership to ensure effective and efficient service delivery for optimum performance”, he said.
While thanking the retired members of the management for their meritorious services, the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, congratulated the newly confirmed officers and charged them to redouble their efforts to ensure the service attains greater heights in its mandates of revenue generation, suppression of smuggling, and trade facilitation amongst others.
Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
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