Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has taken enforcement action against five airlines—two international and three domestic operators—for violations of Part 19 of NCAA Regulations 2023.

These breaches include failing to refund passengers within the stipulated timeframe, disregarding directives from the authority, mishandling luggage, issues with short-landed baggage, and problems related to flight delays and cancellations.

Michael Achimugu, NCAA’s director of public affairs and consumer protection, confirmed the development on Tuesday but declined to disclose the names of the sanctioned airlines.

Achimugu explained that while airlines are not always at fault for flight disruptions, NCAA regulations mandate specific actions they must undertake during such instances. Failure to comply with these directives results in penalties of varying severity.

Achimugu highlighted an uptick in passenger complaints about delays and cancellations, particularly during the festive season, with some disruptions attributed to harmattan-induced poor visibility.

“We all know that this is harmattan season, so there is poor visibility. Flights must get cancelled. This is force majeure, and the airlines do not owe passengers anything in those instances.

“The enforcement we are initiating today is on cases where the airline is deemed to have been at fault. More will come,” he said.

The NCAA plans to summon the chief executive officers (CEOs) of all airlines this week for a meeting to address flight disruptions and regulatory breaches.

Earlier, on December 10, the NCAA announced its intent to sanction airlines for delayed ticket refunds. Under Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023, airlines are required to strictly adhere to refund timelines to protect passenger rights. Refunds for cash purchases must be made immediately and in cash, while electronic payments, including mobile apps and internet banking, must be refunded within 14 days.

NerdzFactory Foundation in collaboration with the Access Bank, has trained over 518 youths in digital skills. The two weeks virtual training, Youth Transition Program (YTP) 5.0, was meant to equip the youths for employment and digital skills and prepare them to excel in the competitive job market and unlock new economic opportunities.

Director of NerdzFactory Foundation, Ade Olowojoba, said the significance of the programme reflects the foundation’s mission to empower a new generation of leaders with the skills needed to thrive in an increasingly dynamic and digital global economy.

“Through initiatives like this, we are fostering innovation, resilience, and economic independence among young Nigerians,” he stated.

He disclosed that the programme succeeded in reaching its objectives.  According to him, participants reported increased readiness for the workforce, improved digital skills, and enhanced entrepreneurial capabilities, which have positioned them to secure quality employment and launch their ventures. The programme has demonstrated the transformative impact of focused skill-building initiatives.

“NerdzFactory Foundation and Access Bank reaffirm their commitment to expand the reach of the Youth Transition Programme to empower more young Nigerians with the tools they need to achieve lasting success and contribute to Nigeria’s sustainable economic development,” he said.

The director noted that the programme launched in response to Nigeria’s high unemployment rate, delivered comprehensive training to empower participants with practical job search skills, digital marketing expertise, and knowledge of leveraging digital platforms for economic growth.

During the programme, some of the sessions included webinars and a virtual bootcamp designed to help participants develop workplace skills such as CV writing, LinkedIn optimisation, and effective use of digital workspace tools.

“By fostering economic independence and resilience, YTP 5.0 aligns with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 4, on quality education and Goal 8, on decent work and economic growth,” he stated.

African Export-Import Bank and Ecobank Group have embarked on a collaboration aimed at simplifying trade and compliance for businesses in Africa by integrating Ecobank’s Single Market Trade Hub and Afreximbank’s MANSA Digital Repository Platform.

With the collaboration, African businesses will benefit from seamless shared services across the two platforms, with users of the Single Market Trade Hub able to easily leverage MANSA’s comprehensive database for efficient know-thy-customer (KYC) and customer due diligence (CDD) checks while MANSA platform users would, in turn, be able to directly connect to the Single Market Trade Hub to explore trade opportunities to expand their businesses across Africa.

The Ecobank Single Market Trade Hub connects registered businesses across Africa on a single platform, helping them benefit from opportunities in the unified market of 1.4 billion people created by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

It serves as a one-stop repository for the AfCFTA by providing small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) and corporates with insights about the agreement while its online match-making feature enables importers and exporters to upload their profiles and showcase goods and services they offer, or wish to source, with the aim of finding partners within Africa.

Once a match is found, connections are made via the platform and the transaction can be concluded leveraging on Ecobank’s trade and payment solutions in 35 African markets.

The MANSA Digital Repository Platform, or MANSA, is a one-stop-shop for due diligence matters on all African entities. As a centralised digital repository, MANSA seeks to eliminate information asymmetry and to increase intra-African trade and trade with the rest of the world.

It drives and promotes good governance culture among African SMEs and creates visibility for their businesses while also supporting African entities to expand, diversify and add value to their export products at both the local and international levels. Entities onboarded unto MANSA are allotted an Africa Entity Identifier (AEI) code which enables them to leverage other Afreximbank products and initiatives.

MANSA is also a key digital solution at the Africa Trade Gateway (ATG) marketplace which houses a suite of digital platforms designed as a single window to enable Afreximbank better deliver on its mandate, providing critical services to support and promote intra-African trade and the implementation of the AfCFTA. The platform enables African entities to accelerate their business activities at the ATG marketplace by working with verified information on trusted counterparties.

The new collaboration is, therefore, enabling Ecobank and Afreximbank to provide a central solution to the key challenge of KYC compliance and access to business across 35 countries in Africa. The improved interoperability is expected to further streamline cross-border trade and compliance in Africa, fostering greater financial and economic integration on the continent.

Afreximbank is a pan-African multilateral financial institution established to finance and promote intra- and extra-African trade.

Ecobank Group is a leading private pan-African banking group with unrivalled African expertise.