NSIB recommends review of Dana Air standard operating procedure

By Gabriel Agbeja

The Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has recommended the review of Dana Air Limited’s training program and standard operating procedures by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)

The Bureau said the review should be done with a view to highlighting Crew Resource Management (CRM) and Threat and Error Management (TEM) as tools in management of abnormal or emergency operations.

This is contained in four incidents and accidents reports and 20 safety recommendations released on Thursday at a virtual news conference.

The news conference was  jointly addressed by NSIB’s Director- General, Capt. Alex Badeh, and Director of Transport Investigation, Mr Abdullahi Babanya

“The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) should ensure that Dana Air Limited adheres to standard phraseology in communicating indication malfunctions during abnormal or emergency operations.

“ NCAA should ensure Dana Air Limited comply with timely use of Checklist / Quick Reference Handbook particularly at critical phases of flight when dealing with abnormal and emergency situations in line with standard company operating procedures.

” Nigeria Airspace Management Agency should ensure that Air Traffic Controllers always insist on communication of specific malfunctions with standard phraseology, in this instance, the use of `indicated system malfunction…` rather than `gear disagree,” the Bureau recommended.

The recommendations were sequel to preliminary report “on serious incident involving MD-82 aircraft operated by Dana with nationality and registration marks 5N-BKl which occurred at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos on April 23.

The preliminary report of the Bureau also revealed how a popular Nollywood actor, Johnpaul Odonwodo, popularly known as Junior Pope, and four other Nollywood personalities died on April 10 when their boat capsized in Anam River in Anambra en route to Asaba Jetty.

According to the report,  the boat, which was conveying 12 Nollywood movie production crew and the driver was on high speed when it crashed into a crossing local fishing canoe.

“The speed boat capsized and all occupants were flung into the Anam River.

“Five passengers were fatally injured and seven were rescued alive. The NSIB was not officially notified but got to know about the accident through social media.

“ Investigators from the Enugu Regional office of NSIB were dispatched to the accident site on April, 12, 2024.

“The boat driver was not certified. The fibre boat was not registered with the National Inland Waterways Authority,” the report read.

According to the report, rowdiness in the boat distracted the driver not to look out as required, adding that the boat was on high speed and the crossing canoe was moving at a much slower speed.

It stated that the only occupant of the canoe, on sighting the fast approaching boat, jumped into the river and escaped.

“Five passengers on the boat were fatally injured while the remaining seven passengers and the driver survived the crash. Only one passenger on the outboard engine fibre boat was wearing a life jacket.

“The only passenger wearing a life jacket came with it and was not provided by the operator. The passenger wearing the life jacket was one of the survivors.

“ The boat was fitted with an outboard engine. Rescue operation was not timely and there were no trained divers around to assist in the operation, ” the report read.

The NSIB also released aviation incident final reports of an incident involving Embraer 145 LR Aircraft operated by Air Peace Limited with national and registration marks 5N-BVD which occurred in Kaduna (civil) airport on Jan. 14, 2021.

The second aviation final report was an on-ground collision between a lavatory service truck with fleet number 9/5 operated by Skyway Aviation Handling Co. Plc (SAHCO) and a parked Boeing 737-300 aircraft with national and registration marks 5N-DAB.

According to the report, the incident that occurred on Nov  21, 2021 involved the aircraft owned and operated by Max Air Limited.

Bade said that the publication of the four reports served as a testament to NSIB’s commitment to safety and underscored its mission to prevent similar occurrences in the future. (NAN)

Edited by AbdulFatai Beki/Rotimi Ijikanmi

FG receives 8,000 interests for renewed hope housing scheme

By Angela Atabo

The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, says the ministry has received about  8,925 expressions of interest for the Renewed Hope Estates and Cities housing scheme.

Dangiwa, said this on Friday in Abuja, at the ministerial briefing on the performance of President Bola Tinubu’s administration in the last one year.

According to him, the 8,925 expression of interest comprises 1,294 for outright purchase, 2,408 for mortgage, 2,184 for rent-to-own and 3,039 for instalment payment.

”Since the inception of the administration of President Bola Tinubu, and the Renewed Hope Housing programme, we have taken pragmatic steps to fast track the sale and occupation of the housing units across the country.

”We advertised expression of interest forms with four windows of subscription to give room for all income segments of Nigerians, which include outright payment, mortgage, Rent-to-own and instalment.

”We received a total of 8,925 Expression of Interest. This comprises 1,294 for Outright Purchase, 2,408 for Mortgage, 2,184 for Rent-To-Own and 3,039 for Instalment payment.’’

Dangiwa recalled that in April, the ministry released the first batch of offer of new provisional allocation letters for outright payment to successful applicants.

He said that under phase one of the renewed hope housing scheme, 50,000 housing units would be delivered across Nigeria adding that the cities would have 1,000 housing units per site in one location in each of the six geo-political zones and the FCT.

He said that the estates would have 500 housing units per site in the remaining 30 states.

He said that the ministry recently launched an online housing portal to ease the process of acquiring homes being built under the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme.

According to Dangiwa, the target is to strengthen the federal government’s urban and slum upgrading programs aimed at improving living conditions, infrastructure, and basic services in informal settlements.

He said that under the phase one of the slum upgrading programme, the ministry planned 26 sites nationwide.

”This includes four sites in each of the six regions of the country totaling 24 and two in the FCT.

”The key services to be provided at the identified sites will include water supply, solar streetlights, rehabilitation of access roads, construction of drainages and waste management and sanitation services among others,’’ he said. (NAN)

Edited by Deborah Coker/Rotimi Ijikanmi

Construction companies fault FG on new contracts’ terms

By Angela Atabo

The Federation of Construction Industry (FOCI), has expressed dissatisfaction with the recent standard conditions of contract and directives by the Federal Ministry of Works on road construction.

FOCI is the umbrella body for organised companies and stakeholders in the construction industry in Nigeria, responsible for the regulation of industrial harmony in the construction Industry.

The President of FOCI, Mr Vincent Barrah, stated this at  a news conference on Thursday in Abuja, to address the issues between its members and the Ministry of Works .

Barrah said that the FOCI, as the largest employer of labour in Nigeria after the Government, was also worried about the slow pace of work by members within the last one year.

He said that this had resulted in significant loss of employment across the country, thereby increasing the unemployment rate in the country.

He said that the situation if left unchecked would cause disruption in the country’s socio-economic challenges and insecurity.

“We are aware of the recent directives by the Minister of Works, David Umahi.

“A new onerous contract conditions that invalidates the already agreed Standard Conditions of Contract (SCC), are being unilaterally introduced on new and existing projects without due consultation with  concerned parties.

“The action of any Ministry or parastatal changing the Standard Conditions of Contract after receiving the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) Certificate of No Objection with a different Standard of Conditions of Contract is not in accordance with due process and international best practices.

“If it becomes necessary to change the Standard Conditions of Contract, a collaboration of the relevant Stakeholders is needed.”

Barrah said the stakeholders should include the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), Nigerian Society of Engineers, (NSE) among others.

According to him, this is in order to formulate new standard conditions of contract as has always been the practice.

He, however, said that the Ministry has unilaterally decided to treat augmentation of contracts for existing projects as new contracts and insisted that contractors should sign new agreements.

Barah said that the new agreements contained extremely onerous terms developed by the Ministry that if not adhered to would terminate the contracts.

He said that this contravened the prescribed bidding process under the Public Procurement Act, the Certificate of No Objection issued by BPP and the Federal Executive Council’s approval obtained for augmentation of such existing projects.

He said that the determination of contract prices is a function of many factors and every project is unique, so either in augmentation or review of rates, the consideration should be based on its uniqueness and reflect the current realities for it to be effectively implemented.

Barrah said that termination of contract by the Ministry due to inability to fund projects contradicted the provisions of Clause 68 of the Ministry’s Standard Conditions of Contract (SCC) .

He explained that the imposition of at least 15 years road durability warranty obligation on contractors was a deviation completely from the 12 months warranty period agreed for all projects.

He,therefore, said this imposed a huge financial risk and exposure for contractors because it was not in the initial contract signed.

Barrah said that FOCI members had constructed asphalt road projects that have lasted for more than 30 years which were built according to design like road networks in Abuja.

He said that the group was glad that the Ministry was awarding new contracts. However, the continuation of existing contracts should be given the desired attention and urgency it deserves.

The president said that the FOCI had approached the Minister of Works, David Umahi to create an opportunity for a forum to resolve these issues in order to move the construction industry forward.

He, however, said they were yet to receive feedback from the Ministry.

He said that FOCI is patriotic and desires the best for the country and the Renewed Hope Agenda of the present Administration and called on all stakeholders to intervene urgently in the current situation.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), recalls that the Minister of Works, David Umahi earlier this year revealed new parameters for road construction to include, design of the project to be in line with the Ministry’s specification.

Others included agreement on reasonable construction period, there shall be no variation on the project, 100 per cent of one carriage way must be completed before tolling by concessionaires.

“Effective design of road infrastructure anchored on a detailed report of environmental site conditions and geotechnical report among others,“he said, “(NAN)

Edited by Joseph Edeh

Tinubu approves free 2-month ride on Abuja Rail Mass Transit – Wike

By Philip Yatai

President Bola Tinubu has approved a two-month free ride on the Abuja Rail Mass Transit, also known as Metro Line, Mr Nyesom Wike, Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has said.

Wike made the disclosure in Abuja on Thursday, during the Ministerial Sectoral Update on the performance of Tinubu’s administration in the last one year.

He said that the metro line would be inaugurated May 27, by Tinubu, and thereafter, opened for public use for free in the first two months.

He explained that although the building of the Abuja Rail Mass Transit system was commissioned by the immediate past administration, the services were not rendered to the public.

The minister said that the current administration had rehabilitated the system and would be inaugurated for commercial operations.

“So many people have said that the government has commissioned it before. We are not talking about commissioning of buildings; we are commissioning the commercial operations.

“We have commissioned it before, but was it in use? Why was it not in use? he asked.

“So, those of you saying it was commissioned, please don’t make a mistake, what was commissioned was the building, and we are not commissioning the building.

“What we want to commission is the commercial operation and we are going to allow free rides for two months. That is a renewed hope agenda,” he said.

The minister also said that there was no access road to all the train stations, a development he said had impeded the commercial operation of the metro line.

He added that rejuvenating the rail transport system was in line with the directive of President Tinubu, who said he wanted to ride on the metro line.

“To the glory of God, on Monday May 27, Mr President will ride on that metro line.

“So, when Mr President rides on Monday, you will take your turn on Tuesday. It is for you and not for Mr president,” he said.

He said that all access roads to all the stations have been constructed, including car parks where passengers would comfortably park their cars, travel, come back and carry their cars home.

Wike added that the Tinubu administration had equally reduced the contract for the training of the manpower for the operation of the train from 128 million dollars to 75 million dollars.

This, he said, had saved the government 53 million dollars. (NAN)

Edited by Abiemwense Moru