This is contained in a statement signed by Dr Ejike Ndiulo, head of Corporate Communications, Air Peace, on Wednesday in Lagos.
According to Ndiulo, the decision is necessary because NiMet is the agency responsible for issuing CNH (Current Nowcast of Hazardous Weather) reports, critical for safe landings, especially during this season of heavy rainfall and thunderstorms.
He said without these reports from the control tower, flight safety could not be guaranteed.
“As a safety-first airline, we have chosen to act responsibly by suspending operations until NiMet resumes full service.
“We understand this may cause inconvenience, and we sincerely apologise. Passengers will be contacted with updates and options for rescheduling,” he said.
The staff of NiMET on Tuesday commenced an indefinite strike over the condition of service and other demands.
News
Shell’s Digital Technology to Boost Nigeria’s Deepwater Operations
Shell is among the growing number of companies that are pioneering digital-twin technologies and recently signed a deal with Aveva to implement an engineering data warehouse to support digital twins in asset lifecycle management.
The oil and gas company has several digital-twin initiatives to support its operations.
Shell’s deepwater company in Nigeria and operator of the 225,000 oil barrel capacity plans to use the digital twin model to: identify critical areas for prioritised inspection, maintenance and repair; reduce the personnel on board the asset; reduce the necessity for physical inspections in hard-to-reach areas, such as cargo tanks; and support scenario planning for extreme weather events and asset modification.
According to Shell, the deployment of the simulation technology will also enable safe asset life extension by replacing the over-conservative estimates made with conventional simulation software, with accurate assessments that reflect actual remaining fatigue life.
Elohor Aiboni, asset manager for Bonga, said: “The Bonga Main FPSO heralded a number of innovative ‘firsts’ when it was built back in 2004, so it’s fitting that it is the first asset of its kind to deploy something as advanced as a structural digital twin.
“We are very excited about the new capabilities that Akselos brings and believe it will create a positive impact on the way we manage structural integrity. It is also a great example of digitisation coming to life.”
Ben van Beurden, Shell CEO described how the company had accelerated digitisation initiatives during the coronavirus crisis. Among the areas of focus is a reduction of the company’s contingent workforce by accelerating automation and digitisation.
Van Beurden said: “We further integrated machine learning into predictive maintenance activities of our refining and our deepwater assets with the potential to now roll it out across other parts of the portfolio as well.
We have implemented new digital features that allow us to further optimise the inventory of materials in our refineries, and we are increasing the use of artificial intelligence to run and optimise our assets in this unprecedented environment, as well as to simulate return-to-office scenarios for it.
“For us, all these actions are more than initiatives to just ensure business continuity through the crisis. They are actually opportunities to further build resilient operating models and optimise costs.”
Shell’s Bonga Main floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel located 120km southwest of the Niger Delta in Nigeria, became operational in 2004. It has a capacity of 225,000 barrels a day and weighs more than 300,000 tonnes. It is using a digital twin developed by Akselos.
The model is regularly updated with loading conditions and inspection data, providing the ability to carry out structural assessments based on the “as is” condition, from anywhere and at any time.
In a recent blog post, Victor Voulgaropoulos, industry analyst at Verdantix wrote: “Shell is again in the spotlight, as it seeks to further accelerate its digital transformation initiatives by implementing digital-twin solutions across its global portfolio of assets and capital projects.
Shell has signed an enterprise framework agreement with Kongsberg Digital, a Kongsberg subsidiary, for the deployment of Kongsberg’s Kognitwin Energy, a cloud-based software-as-a-service digital-twin solution, within Shell’s upstream, liquified natural gas, and downstream business lines.”
According to Voulgaropoulos, Kognitwin Energy uses high-fidelity, physics-based models and machine-learning algorithms to simulate the actual operation of a plant or asset, and generates synthetic data where measurements are not available.
Meanwhile, Shell’s Deepwater business has selected Bentley’s digital-twin approach to streamline its capital projects. With a plan to deliver several subsea tie-back projects over the next 10 years, the company is implementing an integrated digital project and engineering environment, which spans project conception in the early phase design through to handover.
“Shell Deepwater Projects is developing an integrated workflow and data platform from system selection to asset handover to streamline our capital projects processes and accelerate time to first oil,” said GT Ju, general manager, Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Projects.
“The platform is being developed in partnership with Bentley, leveraging Bentley’s iTwin open, scalable [Microsoft] Azure cloud-based platform, which provides interoperability across owner and supply chain systems.
“We believe that an end-to-end platform that gives us visibility and transparency to project and engineering data across our portfolio will be a key driver to delivering competitive projects.”
A federal high court in Abuja has granted permission to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to arrest and detain six Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX) promoters over allegations of investment fraud to the tune of over one billion dollars.
Emeka Nwite, presiding judge, gave the order following an ex parte application moved by Fadila Yusuf, counsel to the EFCC.
In the application by the EFCC, the six suspects are Adefowora Olanipekun, Adefowora Oluwanisola, Emmanuel Uko, Seyi Oloyede, Avwerosuo Otorudo and Chukwuebuka Ehirim.
The commission sought an order of the court for a warrant of arrest of the defendants.
They also prayed the court for “an order remanding the defendants in the custody of the complainant/applicant pending the conclusion of investigation of the alleged offences and possible prosecution”.
Yusuf said that the defendants are at large and a warrant of arrest is required to arrest the defendants for proper investigation and prosecution of this case.
In the affidavit in support of the motion, the EFCC said preliminary investigation into the intel revealed that the defendants “using their company ST Technologies International Limited, promoted another company Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX) by making adverts and lured unsuspecting members of the public to invest crypto cryptocurrencies on the CBEX investment platform”.
The EFCC said the defendants promised an unrealistic return on investment of up to 100 percent.
“The victims were made to convert their digital assets into a stablecoin of USDT for onward deposit into the suspects’ crypto wallet,” Yusuf said.
“The victims were initially given full access to the platform to monitor their investment.
“Following the deposits valued at over $1 billion by the victims, the CBEX investment platform became inaccessible to them, and they could no longer withdraw from the investment made.
“The victims later discovered that the said scheme is a scam.
“During the course of investigation, it was discovered that the said ST Technologies International Limited, though registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), it was not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for investment purposes.
“It was also discovered during the investigation that the defendants had moved out of their last known address in Lagos and Ogun states.”
The anti-graft agency said obtaining a warrant of arrest was necessary in order to place the defendants on a watch list, enabling authorities to trace and apprehend the suspects to face the charges brought against them.
Nwite granted the request for a warrant of arrest and remand, adding that the order was necessary to enable the commission to apprehend the defendants and conclude its investigation.
“I have listened to the submission of the learned counsel for the applicant,” Nwite said.
“I have also gone through the affidavit evidence with exhibits thereto, along with the written address.
“I am of the view and I so hold that the application is meritorious.
“Consequently, the application is granted as prayed.”
Earlier in April, reports emerged that CBEX users could no longer withdraw their funds.
On Monday, angry investors stormed and looted the office of Smart Treasure (ST Team), an affiliate of CBEX, in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The EFCC recently confirmed receiving multiple complaints about the platform.
Dele Oyewale, the commission spokesperson, assured affected investors that efforts were underway to recover their funds.
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is pleased to announce the inaugural meeting of the Startup Consultative Forum, scheduled for Monday April 28, 2025 This milestone event marks a significant step in deepening stakeholder engagement within Nigeria’s growing startup ecosystem.
The Forum will serve as an interactive platform for startup founders, innovators, ecosystem enablers, and intermediaries to actively shape national policies that foster growth, attract investment, and drive digital innovation.
Convened under the framework of the Nigeria Startup Act (NSA), this initiative reflects the government’s commitment to making startups not just stakeholders but key contributors in building an enabling environment for innovation.
The meeting will emphasize collaborative dialogue, with a primary focus on nominating and selecting representatives for the National Council for Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Startup Council)—Nigeria’s highest advisory body for the startup ecosystem. Decisions from this Forum will lay the foundation for inclusive policy development, amplifying the voices of Nigeria’s tech and innovation community.
NITDA invites all Labelled Startups, Verified Entrepreneurial and Innovation Support Organisations, Angel Investors, Venture Capitalists, and other relevant stakeholders to join the Forum and actively participate in the nomination and voting process.
Join us in shaping the future of digital innovation in Nigeria. Together, we can build a thriving ecosystem that supports and celebrates the pioneering spirit of Nigerian startups.
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