News
FG to sanction airlines over delayed ticket refunds
The Federal Government through the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority is out to sanction airlines over inability to make refunds for cancelled or delayed flights spanning more than five hours.
The aviation body’s stance is against the backdrop of a barrage of complaints by travellers against the erring airlines amid varying practices by airlines that have taken the joy out of air travel, including skyrocketing airfares.
The agency said failure to comply with Part 19 of NCAA regulations will, henceforth, attract immediate sanctions.
The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the NCAA, Michael Achimug, in a statement posted on his X handle on Monday, warned that airlines that fail to pay refunds within the stipulated time frame of 14 days of the NCAA regulations 2023 will attract immediate sanction.
He explained that he had spent an entire year engaging airlines, listening to their challenges, and partnering with them to give passengers a better travel experience.
Achimug added that while most airlines have been responsive, others have refused to comply with regulations on passengers’ rights, stressing that the relationship between operators and the regulator has worked better than in the past and this is good for passengers.
He chided Air Peace in particular for the delay in refunding passengers, just as he directed the airline to make a refund to passengers, saying 14 days had long elapsed.
His words, “This is not hot air. The Consumer Protection Department of the NCAA has done a lot to sensitise passengers and the business of operators. The time has come for airlines to repay the good faith and support they have gotten from the regulator.”
“Our CPOs have received instructions not to chase down airlines to comply with the regulations. Every case of non-compliance will be met with adequate sanctions. Not a single airline will say that they have not been given a listening ear.”
The Authority has been balanced.”
“Apologies to passengers whose refunds have taken longer than necessary. It is not ideal. I am pursuing a review of the regulations to cut the timeframe to seven days. It is doable. Nigerian passengers deserve world-class service.”
Achimugu further stated that the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, and the Director-General of NCAA, Capt. Chris Najomo, have been very supportive of operators, especially domestic airlines, noting that this is well-captured in the Minister’s 5-point agenda.
He said, “It is imperative, therefore, that airlines do right, if not by these two incredible public servants, then by the passengers who patronise their businesses. The challenges faced by airlines are manifold. Not nearly all delays and cancellations are their fault, but they have shouldered the blame.
“I have spoken in support of operators because, given the peculiar environment, they are doing a lot and must be supported. My department’s intervention has seen airlines pay full refunds, 25 per cent rebates, and even 50 per cent rebates.
“But there are areas where they ought to do much better, and paying refunds within the stipulated time frame is one of the low-hanging fruits. Passengers may not always understand the back end of things, but when it is determined that they are due a refund, it should be done seamlessly.”
Brazil’s former president Fernando Collor de Mello was arrested and taken to prison Friday to begin serving a nearly nine-year sentence for corruption and money laundering, the latest former leader to face jail time.
Collor de Mello, Brazil’s first democratically elected president after a decades-long dictatorship, resigned in 1992 after Congress launched impeachment proceedings against him for allegedly taking bribes.
His arrest stems from a conviction over bribes taken two decades later while a senator, part of the sprawling “Car Wash” corruption scandal.
The 75-year-old was detained in Maceio city in northeastern Alagoas state, where he served as a senator and governor, a federal police source told AFP.
In 2023, Collor de Mello was found guilty of having received 20 million reais ($3.5 million dollars) in bribes while a senator between 2010 and 2014 to “irregularly facilitate contracts” between a construction company and a former subsidiary of Brazil’s state oil company Petrobras.
On Thursday, Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes rejected Collor de Mello’s last-gasp efforts to have the arrest order annulled.
His lawyers told local media the arrest came as he was about to travel to the capital Brasilia to turn himself in.
Moraes ordered he be incarcerated in an individual cell in a “special wing” of Baldomero Cavalcanti de Oliveira prison in Maceio.
His lawyers said they would seek permission for him to serve his sentence under house arrest.
Collor de Mello is not Brazil’s first president to fall foul of the law.
Four of the seven people who have led the country since the 1964-1985 military dictatorship have either been convicted, jailed or impeached.
In the latest case, far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro has been ordered to stand trial over an alleged coup plot after losing the 2022 election.
While recovering in hospital this week from intestinal surgery, a court official handed the 70-year-old a summons giving him five days to submit his initial defense.
– ‘Car Wash’ fallout –
Current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who served two terms between 2003 and 2010, was among dozens of top businessmen and politicians in Brazil and elsewhere in Latin America who were caught up in the Car Wash mega-probe.
The investigation uncovered a vast network of bribes paid by large construction companies to politicians in several countries to obtain major public works contracts.
Lula spent a year and a half behind bars before having his conviction overturned by the Supreme Court and winning a third term in October 2022.
Collor de Mello was heralded as a youthful non-conformist figure who promised far-reaching political and social reforms when he beat the leftist Lula to the presidency in 1989.
But his day in the sun did not last long.
Less than three years later he stood down as president as the impeachment process was nearly complete.
He returned to politics, after a period of ineligibility had expired, and in 2006 was elected senator for Alagoas, a seat he held until 2022.
In 2022, he campaigned for Bolsonaro who was seeking re-election but it was Collor de Mello’s old adversary Lula who triumphed. [AFP/CBS]
Several world leaders will attend the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday, April 26.
Here is the list:
Africa
Angola – Joâo Manuel Gonçalves, President
Cape Verde – Jose Maria Neves, President
Central African Republic – Faustin-Archange Touadera, President
Democratic Republic of Congo – Felix Tshisekedi, President
Equatorial Guinea – Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, Vice President
Gabon – Brice Nguema, President
Kenya – William Samoei Ruto, President
Lesotho – King Letsie III
Madagascar – Andry Rajoelina, President
Morocco – Aziz Akhannouch, Prime Minister
Mozambique – Daniel Chapo, President
Nigeria – H.E Senator Godswill Akpabio Senate President
Seychelles – Wavel Ramkalawan, President
Sierra Leone – Julius Maada Bio, President
Tanzania – Philip Isdor Mpango, Vice President
Togo – Faure Gnassingbé, President
Zimbabwe – Constantino Chiwenga, Vice President
Foreign Ministers: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Namibia, South Sudan, Tunisia, Zambia
Asia
Armenia – Vahagn Khachaturyan, President
Bangladesh – Muhammad Yunus, Chief Adviser
China – Chin-Jen Chen, Former Vice President
Cyprus – Nikos Christodoulides, President
East Timor – Jose Ramos-Horta, President
India – Droupadi Murmu, President
Iraq (Kurdistan Region) – Nechirvan Barzani, President
Israel – Yaron Sideman, Ambassador
Lebanon – Joseph Khalil Aoun, President
Palestine – Mohamed Mustafa, Prime Minister
Philippines – Ferdinand Marcos Jr., President
Turkey – Numan Kurtulmus, Speaker of the National Assembly
Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Japan – Foreign Ministers
Jordan – King Abdullah II
Europe
Albania – Bajram Begaj, President
Austria – Christian Stocker, Chancellor
Belgium – Bart De Wever, Prime Minister; King Philippe and Queen Mathilde
Bosnia and Herzegovina – Zeljka Cvijanović, Chairman
Croatia – Zoran Milanovic, President
Czech Republic – Petr Fiala, Prime Minister
Estonia – Alar Karis, President
Finland – Alexander Stubb, President
France – Emmanuel Macron, President
Georgia – Mikheil Kavelashvili, President
Germany – Frank-Walter Steinmeier & Olaf Scholz
Greece – Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister
Hungary – Tamas Sulyok & Viktor Orbán
Iceland – Halla Tómasdóttir, President
Ireland – Micheal D. Higgins & Micheal Martin
Italy – Sergio Mattarella & Giorgia Meloni
Latvia – Edgars Rinkevics, President
Lithuania – Gitanas Nauseda, President
Macedonia – Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, President
Malta – Myriam Spiteri Debono, President
Moldova – Maia Sandu, President
Montenegro – Jakov Milatović, President
Netherlands – Dick Schoof, Prime Minister
Poland – Andrzej Duda, President
Portugal – Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa & Luis Montenegro
Romania – Ilie Bolojan, Interim President
San Marino – Denise Bronzetti, Captain Regent
Serbia – Duro Macut, Prime Minister
Slovakia – Peter Pellegrini, President
Slovenia – Natasa Pirc Musar & Robert Golob
Sweden – Ulf Kristersson, Prime Minister; King Carl XVI Gustaf & Queen Silvia
Switzerland – Karin Keller-Sutter, President
Ukraine – Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President
United Kingdom – Keir Starmer, Prime Minister; Prince William
Liechtenstein – Prince Alois and Princess Sophie
Luxembourg – Grand Duke Henri & Grand Duchess Maria Teresa
Monaco – Prince Albert and Princess Charlene
Denmark – Queen Mary
Norway – Crown Prince Haakon & Crown Princess Mette-Marit
Leaders of Institutions (Europe-based): Bjorn Berge (Council of Europe), Ursula von der Leyen (European Commission), Roberta Metsola (European Parliament), Antonio Costa (Council of the EU), Kaja Callas (EU Foreign Affairs), Pia Kauma (OSCE Parliamentary Assembly)
North America
United States – Donald Trump (President) & Melania Trump; Joe Biden (Former President) & Jill Biden
Belize – Froyla Tzalam, Governor General
Canada – Mary Simon, Governor General
Mexico – Rosa Icela Rodríguez, Secretary of the Interior
Cuba – Salvador Valdés Mesa, Vice President
Dominican Republic – Luis Abinader, President
El Salvador – Félix Ulloa Garay, Vice President
Honduras – Xiomara Castro, President
South America
Argentina – Javier Milei, President
Brazil – Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President
Chile – Manuel José Ossandon, Senator
Ecuador – Daniel Noboa, President
Paraguay – Raúl Latorre, President of the Chamber of Deputies
Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela – Foreign Ministers
Oceania
Australia – Sam Mostyn, Governor General
New Zealand – Christopher Luxon, Prime Minister
International Organizations
United Nations – Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General; Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General
European Commission – Ursula von der Leyen, President
Council of the European Union – Antonio Costa, President
European Parliament – Roberta Metsola, President
European Union Foreign Affairs – Kaja Kallas, High Representative
Council of Europe – Bjorn Berge, Secretary-General
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) – Pia Kauma, President of the Parliamentary Assembly
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) – Álvaro Lario, President
The ex-wife of 2Face, Annie Macauley, has broken her silence after a brief break following the marriage between 2Face and Natasha.
A few hours ago, a video of 2Face and Natasha getting married traditionally popped up on the internet.
The video of the traditional marriage has sparked diverse reactions from social media users
In the video that has gone viral, Natasha was seen covering her head with a scarf and wrapping her waist with an Idoma cloth as 2Face was seen introducing her to his clan’s men.
Annie took to her Instagram story to shared a video fo herself having a video shoot with Ayra Starr’s song ‘Rush’. It seems the actress is unconcerned about her ex-husband’s union with his new lover.
Social medi users have reacted to the post of Annie. Read some comments below…
fantaceewiz_ said: “Annie!!! Seeing you smile brings me so much joy. This is just the beginning. We can’t wait for “The Annie Macauly Brand Memoir & the movie”. We are here Queen.”
@asetomyancestors wrote: “New beginnings is always a good thing…get ur whole being together beautiful…mentally…physically…emotionally…most importantly spiritually….God is on ur side darling u got this…u are brave…u are enough..u are resilient…”
justhelenshapiro wrote: “Annie I love you, don’t worry. Mama you’re so strong and I respect you. Keep going we’re watching your back..”
tymecosmetics said: “Love you Annie. You are a true African Queen. Never forget you are a Queen and more.”
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