Dana crash: FG gives airline Dec. deadline to settle outstanding claims
The Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, said on Thursday that her ministry had given Dana Airline till December 2013 to pay up all outstanding claims aring from the June 2012 crash of its plane.
She said at the 2013 ministerial platform that Dana Airline has paid about 60 percent of the compensation claims by families of the victim of last year's plane crash in Lagos.
The Minister said the company is currently facing issues of multiple claims and until it is clarified, it will be difficult to settle these claims.
'On the Dana compensation, there have been cases of multiple claims; we would continue to clarify until we ascertain who exactly is next of kin or who should collect compensations for these victims but Dana has till December to clear all these, if not we'll have to sanction them,' she said.
Ms Oduah said power failure in airports will be a history by mid-2014.
She said the aviation industry will provides two million direct employments following the emergence of aerotropolis projects.
'The aerotropolis airport city projects we are working on will create two million direct employments to Nigerians,' Ms. Oduah said.
The aerotropolis development she said are in four locations: Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano.
She said Abuja and Lagos will have a mix of agro processing, manufacturing, construction, IT, shopping and Conference/ Hospitality while Kano will focus primarily on perishable goods, agro processing and storage of food since it is close to the food baskets. Ms. Oduah said Port Harcourt will be used mainly for manufacturing and oil servicing and also providing an opportunity for conferencing and hotel facilities.
Ms. Oduah assured that the Nigerian airspace is safe for passenger travels.
'I want to assure you that our airports and air environment is very safe; our airspace is 150 per cent safe,' she said.
She said various agencies have been able to minimize communication between the pilots and the towers through an automated system where every flight is totally automated and monitored to ensure that they only go to places they indicated they will be going to.
As regards passenger's rights, Ms. Oduah said that the sector is working on a passenger bill of rights aimed at protecting the interest of air passengers.
'It simply tells you that you must be respected because it is your money,' she said.
, has assured international investors of a transparent transaction in the ongoing
Nigeria will follow transparent processes in the sale of ten power plants owned by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited under the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP), the National Council on Privatisation has said..
The Governor of Benue State, Hon. Gabriel Suswam made this statement, when he represented the Vice-President, Namadi Sambo, as chairman at the Hong Kong and New York phases of the Investors' Forum and Road Shows for the marketing of the NIPP.
Sambo is the Chairman of NCP.
Suswam said the government decided to adopt an open and inclusive stakeholders and investors' approach in the sales process of the power projects to engender fairness, provide a level-playing field and confidence in the would-be investors and the public.
Governor's presentation was captured in a statement by the governor's media aide, Dr. Cletus Akwaya
He further assured the public and all would-be investors of the viability of the reformed power sector and urged all bidders with the capacity to invest in and run the power plants to take advantage of the transparent procedure of the ongoing investment forum.
Dignitaries, stakeholders and representatives of leaders in the power and energy sectors that witnessed the investment forum include the Governor of Gombe State, Alhaji Ibrahim Dankwambo, the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, Chairmen of the Senate Committees on Power and Privatisation, Ambassador/Consul General of Nigeria to the United States of America, Senator Barnabas Gemade and Chairmen of the House of Representatives Committees on Power and Privatisation respectively.
Others key industry participants at the investment Road Shows included the Chairman Presidential Task Force on Privatisation, members of the National Council on Privatisation of the power as well as the Chief Executive Officers of Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited, National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Company, Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria, Nigeria Gas Company and Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
The transaction adviser, which is the leading consulting firm on Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) for the private sector participation in the power sector is CPCS Transcom International Limited.
Private sector participants at the investment forum are expected to acquire assets of the 10 NIPPs and partner with the federal and state governments in order to bridge the power gap for the sustained economic growth of Nigeria.