Local airline operator Air Peace will commence its Abuja-London route very soon, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has said.

Keyamo, who stated this on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Thursday, said he has given the approval for Air Peace to add Abuja to its London route.

On March 30, 2024, Air Peace reciprocated the lopsided Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) between Nigeria and the United Kingdom when the local airline began direct flight operations from Lagos to Gatwick Airport in London.

The development has been applauded by many industry observers with more local airlines being encouraged to commence international flights to profitable routes.

The price of international flight ticket on the Lagos-London route was as high as N3.5m but with Air Peace pegging a return economy class ticket for N1.2m, foreign airlines such as British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and Qatar Airways have been forced to slash their prices to stay competitive.

The 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices says the last general election in Nigeria reflected the will of the populace despite widespread irregularities.

The report published by the bureau of democracy, human rights, and labour, US Department of State, highlights human rights practices and violations in different countries, including Nigeria.

The report stated that supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) suppressed votes in Igbo-dominated areas during the March 2023 governorship election in Lagos.

“National elections were widely reported to have reflected the will of voters, despite technical and logistical difficulties, and some irregularities,” the report reads.

“Many independent observers assessed the results of the presidential, legislative, and state-level elections during the year reflected the will of voters, despite reports of voter suppression and vote buying, campaigning at polling stations, lack of ballot secrecy, violence, and intimidation.

“During the March 18 state election in Lagos, All Progressives Congress (APC) supporters reportedly intimidated and
suppressed voters in Igbo-dominated areas, which Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi won in the February 25 national election.

“Viral videos on social media showed APC supporters in Ojo (a LGA in Lagos) threatening to attack ethnic Igbo voters presumed to be pro-Obi.

“In Eti-Osa, APC supporters also attacked journalists and, in some cases, shut down voting and prevented non-Yoruba voters from accessing polls. They similarly destroyed property and physically blocked voters in Amuwo-Odofin.

“According to videos posted on social media, police officers were present but failed to respond to attacks.”

The report said there was no evidence that individuals who perpetrated violence in Lagos during the election were arrested or prosecuted.

‘CORRUPTION IN GOVERNMENT‘

The report stated that the Nigerian government has not “consistently” implemented anti-corruption laws.

It said there was “widespread” corruption across the country, including in the judiciary.

“In August, President Tinubu appointed former Governor Abubakar Bagudu, the Minister of Budget, despite Bagudu’s widely reported history of helping then-President Sani Abacha steal hundreds of millions of dollars from the government in the 1990s,” the report said.

“Police arrested former Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele on June 10 and charged him and a co-defendant with defrauding the government of 6.5 billion naira ($10.4 million), later reduced to 1.6 billion naira ($2.5 million).”

Joe Abah, a former director-general of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), has narrated how a ground engineer prevented another potential air disaster in Nigeria.

In a series of posts via X, Abah said he boarded the Ibom Air flight from Lagos to Abuja on Thursday morning.

He said as the aircraft prepared for take-off, there was a bang on the door from outside, which made the flight attendant to open the door.

“As she did, a ground engineer came in and those of us in front clearly heard him say “You can’t go. Your landing gear is bad,” Abah wrote.

He added that afterwards, the pilot made a “political” announcement that they need to perform some additional checks on the aircraft before take-off.

“He (pilot) spoke with the engineer and, a few seconds later, announced that we were to disembark,” Abah said.

“I thank God that we have the systems in place to check this and avert potential disaster. And that we have some diligent Nigerians who take their work seriously.”

Abah asked the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to find him the engineer so that he can personally appreciate him.

Abah added that the incident caused disruptions and delays to the airline’s schedule for the day.

On Tuesday, a Dana Air plane veered off the Lagos airport runway, leading to the diversion of other flights.

The airline has since been grounded by the NCAA.