The federal government spent $3.57 billion servicing the country’s foreign debt in the first nine months of 2024.

According to data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) report on international payment statistics, the federal government debt service increased by 39.7 percent from the $2.56 billion spent during the same period in 2023.

The data showed that the highest monthly debt servicing payment in 2024 occurred in May, amounting to $854.36 million, while the highest monthly expenditure in 2023 was $641.69 million recorded in July.

A monthly breakdown of international debt figures for 2024 showed that in January, debt servicing cost was $560.51 million – up by 389 percent compared to $112.34 million recorded in January 2023.

In February, there was a decline of 1.8 percent, with payments reducing from $288.54 million in 2023 to $283.21 million in 2024.

The CBN data showed that in March payments also dropped 31.04 percent from $400.47 million in 2023 to $276.16 million in 2024.

However, April debt payments rose to $215.20 million in 2024 compared to $92.85 million in 2023.

The highest payment was recorded in May 2024, with the federal government spending $854.36 million to service debt — indicating a 286.52 percent increase compared to $221.05 million recorded in May 2023.  

In June 2024, debt payments declined to $50.82 million – down from $54.35 million in the same month in 2023.

Also, data showed that July 2024 recorded a 15.48 percent drop, with payments reducing to $542.5 million compared to $641.6 million in July last year.

In August, there was another decline of 9.69 percent, as $279.9 million was paid compared to $309.9 million in the same month in 2023.

However, September 2024 saw a 17.49 percent increase, with payments rising to $515.81 million from $439.06 million in September last year.

Nigeria’s debt management has been a cause of concern. 

In the second quarter (Q2) of 2024, the Debt Management Office (DMO) said Nigeria’s public debt rose to N134 trillion – up by 10 percent from N121.67 trillion in Q1 2024.

While domestic debt rose to N71.22 trillion ($48.44 million) in June 2024, foreign or external debt stood at N63.07 trillion ($42.90 million) in June 2024.

The Cable

Nigeria's state oil firm, NNPC Ltd said on Wednesday one of its subsidiaries has agreed to supply 100 million standard cubic feet of gas per day to the Dangote oil refinery for the next 10 years.

Financial details were not disclosed.

Under the agreement, NNPC Gas Marketing Limited will supply the refinery built by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote in Lagos with natural gas for power generation and feedstock. The contract has options for renewal and additional supply.

NNPC, Africa's biggest oil producer, is seeking to promote domestic gas consumption for industrial growth.

Reuters

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has announced an increase in its Abuja-Kaduna train services from four to six trips daily, running from Monday to Friday.

This expansion is aimed at meeting the growing demand for train services on the route.

The acting Managing Director of the NRC, Ben Iloanusi, confirmed the development in a statement issued on Wednesday in Lagos.

The statement, signed by Yakub Mohmood, Deputy Director of Public Relations at the NRC, highlighted the corporation’s commitment to improving customer satisfaction and addressing complaints of ticket racketeering.

“The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has increased the number of train services from four to six services from Monday to Friday on its Abuja-Kaduna route. 

The statement from the NRC highlighted that a five-month analysis showed a 22% increase in new passengers registering on the ticket platform for the Abuja-Kaduna route. This growth, it noted, reflects a significant rise in the number of Nigerians opting for train services as a preferred mode of transportation due to its comfort, reliability, and safety.

More insight  

The report further noted that the Acting Managing Director added that similar increases in passenger demand have been observed on other routes, such as Lagos-Ibadan, Warri-Itakpe, and Port Harcourt-Aba.

He disclosed that efforts are underway to enhance services along these routes as part of the NRC’s long-term strategy.

Iloanusi assured the public of the corporation’s ongoing efforts to tackle ticket racketeering and improve efficiency. Senior management personnel will maintain an increased presence across train service routes to ensure smooth operations.

He encouraged passengers to use the NRC’s online ticketing platform to benefit from the increased services and avoid patronizing ticket racketeers.

Nairametrics

Israel presses airstrikes as Beirut awaits truce ideas

Israeli airstrikes pounded Beirut's Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs for a second consecutive day on Wednesday, as Lebanon waited to hear Washington's latest ceasefire proposals after a U.S. official expressed hope a truce could be reached.

More than seven weeks since Israel went on the offensive against Iran-backed Hezbollah, mid-morning airstrikes levelled half a dozen buildings in the Beirut suburb known as Dahiyeh and killed eight people in Dawhit Aramoun, a village south of the capital. The dead included three women and three children, Lebanon's health ministry said.

"They used to hit Dahiyeh at night, now they are doing it in daytime. Things are intensifying day after day," said Hassan Moussa, 40, speaking in Beirut, adding that Israeli airstrikes had also widened to areas such as Aramoun.

Israel launched a major air and ground offensive against the heavily armed Hezbollah in late September after nearly a year of cross-border conflict fought in parallel with the Gaza war.

The Israeli military said its air force had destroyed nine Hezbollah weapons storage facilities and command centres in strikes in the Beirut area, and that Hezbollah fired 40 projectiles into Israel on Wednesday. Six Israeli soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Lebanon, the military said.

It said a heavy barrage of rockets was fired later in the day from Lebanon at Israel, where sirens sounded in the central areas. There were no immediate reports of any damage or casualties from that attack.

White House envoy Amos Hochstein, the U.S. official who has led several fruitless attempts to broker a ceasefire over the last year, told Axios that he thought "there is a shot" at a truce in Lebanon soon. "I am hopeful we can get it."

His comments point to a last-ditch bid by the outgoing administration of U.S. President Joe Biden to secure a Lebanon ceasefire as diplomacy to end the Gaza war appears adrift, with mediator Qatar having suspended its role.

The United States and other world powers say a ceasefire in Lebanon must be based on U.N. Security Council resolution 1701 which ended a war between the sides in 2006. The resolution demands that the areas of south Lebanon near the Israeli border be free of any weapons other than those of the Lebanese state.

Israel long complained it was never implemented, pointing to Hezbollah weapons and fighters at the border. Lebanon in turn accused Israel of violating the resolution, with Israeli warplanes regularly violating its airspace.

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a political ally of Hezbollah and endorsed by it to negotiate, was quoted as saying that Lebanon was awaiting concrete ceasefire proposals and had not been informed officially of any new ideas.

"What is on the table is only Resolution 1701 and its provisions, which must be implemented and adhered to by both sides, not by the Lebanese side alone," Berri, who helped negotiate the 2006 truce, told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.

Israel wants the right to intervene itself to enforce any ceasefire if it deems it necessary, noting the presence of U.N. peacekeepers in south Lebanon had not stopped Hezbollah from building forces in the area.

ISRAELI WARNING

There were no immediate reports of casualties in Wednesday's Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, which residents have been largely evacuated.

The Israeli military earlier issued a statement on social media saying it would act soon against targets in the area, warning residents they were located near Hezbollah facilities.

Tuesday's Israeli airstrikes, also carried out mid-morning, flattened around a dozen buildings in Dahiyeh.

Hezbollah said it used drones to attack Tel Aviv's Hakirya military base for the first time. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on Hezbollah's statement and no sirens were reported by the military in Tel Aviv.

On Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said there had been "a certain progress" in ceasefire talks over Lebanon, though the main challenge would be enforcement.

Israel's new Defence Minister Israel Katz said there would be no ceasefire or arrangement in Lebanon that did not include Israel's right to enforce and act on its own against Hezbollah.

Several diplomats said it would be all but impossible to get Hezbollah or Lebanon to accept any proposal that included this demand.

Since hostilities erupted a year ago, Israeli attacks have killed at least 3,365 people in Lebanon, the majority in the last seven weeks, according to the Lebanese health ministry. Its figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Hezbollah attacks have killed about 100 civilians and soldiers in northern Israel, the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and southern Lebanon over the last year, according to Israel.

A Hezbollah attack on Tuesday killed two people in the city of Nahariya in northern Israel. Hezbollah later claimed responsibility for a drone attack that it said was aimed at a military base east of Nahariya.

Reuters

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine could have nuclear weapon in months – report

Ukraine could feasibly raid the country’s nuclear reactors to develop crude atomic weapons if the US cuts off military aid, a briefing paper prepared for the Ministry of Defense has advised.

The Times reported on Wednesday that its authors at the National Institute for Strategic Studies believe 

“creating a simple atomic bomb, as the United States did within the framework of the Manhattan Project, would not be a difficult task 80 years later.”

Published by the Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies, the report claims that “creating a simple atomic bomb, as the United States did within the framework of the Manhattan Project, would not be a difficult task 80 years later.”

While Ukraine cannot enrich Uranium – a process vital for building modern nuclear weapons, its nine operating nuclear reactors contain an estimated seven tons of plutonium, its authors claimed. This could be used to build bombs similar to the ‘Fat Man’ device dropped on Nagasaki by the US in 1945, they wrote.

While a Ukrainian ‘Fat Man’ would only be a tenth as powerful as the device that leveled Nagasaki, the amount of plutonium in the country’s reactors “is sufficient for hundreds of warheads with a tactical yield of several kilotons,” they argued.

“That would be enough to destroy an entire Russian airbase or concentrated military, industrial or logistics installations. The exact nuclear yield would be unpredictable because it would use different isotopes of plutonium,” author Aleksey Yizhak explained.

Excerpts from the paper were published by The Times on Wednesday. According to the British newspaper, the report has been shared with Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, and will be presented at a conference attended by the country’s defense and strategic industries ministers on Wednesday.

Russia’s nuclear doctrine allows for the use of such weapons in the event of a first nuclear strike on its territory or infrastructure, or if the existence of the Russian state is threatened by either nuclear or conventional weapons. Earlier this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that Moscow should have the right to consider the nuclear option if it is attacked by a non-nuclear state that is backed by one that possesses such weaponry.

The threat of Russian nuclear retaliation has prevented NATO from intervening directly in the Ukraine conflict, the outgoing chief of the bloc’s military committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, said at a summit on Sunday.

Speaking to The Times, Yizhak downplayed the threat of nuclear war. “I was surprised by the reverence the United States has for Russia’s nuclear threat. It may have cost us the war,” he said. “They treat nuclear weapons as some kind of God. So perhaps it is also time for us to pray to this God.”

Last month, Zelensky declared that Ukraine would attempt to acquire nuclear weapons if it is denied NATO membership, although he later walked these comments back. “Russia will not allow this to happen, no matter what,” Putin said in response.

In a statement on Thursday, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgy Tikhy said that Kiev was “not developing and not seeking to develop nuclear weapons.”

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russia stages first missile attack on Kyiv since August, Ukraine says

Blasts boomed across Kyiv on Wednesday morning after officials said Russia launched its first missile attack on the Ukrainian capital since August, forcing elderly women and small children to take shelter in an underground metro station.

Ukrainians have been waiting for a big missile attack for months, worried that it could deal a new blow to the hobbled energy system and cause long blackouts as winter sets in.

Air defences intercepted two incoming cruise missiles, two ballistic missiles and 37 drones across the country, the air force said. No casualties or major damage were reported in Kyiv.

"Putin is launching a missile attack on Kyiv right now," Andriy Yermak, the head of the president's office, wrote on Telegram.

Falling debris came down in the region outside Kyiv, injuring a 48-year-old man and causing a fire at a warehouse, the head of Kyiv region's administration said.

Kyiv has faced Russian drone attacks almost nightly for weeks. City mayor Vitali Klitschko said a drone was still flying over central Kyiv in the morning.

"Explosions in the city. Air defence forces are working. Stay in shelters!" the Kyiv city administration wrote on Telegram.

Around 100 residents took shelter in the central metro station Universitet, including small children sleeping on yoga mats and elderly women sitting on fold-out chairs.

Some complained of a lack of sleep from the regular drone attacks, which trigger the air raid alert that sounds across the city and buzzes on phones.

"The mornings are totally ruined. I started college in September and every morning has been ruined by the bloody Russians. I cannot sleep, cannot think and I drink energy drinks all the time," said Mykyta, a teenager hugging his dog in the metro.

MASSIVE ATTACK

Russia targeted Ukrainian power facilities with strikes earlier this year, causing blackouts. The situation has since improved, but officials believe the Kremlin may plan to attack the grid again soon.

Andrii Kovalenko, a senior official at the National Security and Defence Council, warned that Russia was ready to conduct another "massive" attack and had accumulated a large number of cruise missiles.

After Wednesday's strike, power grid operator Ukrenergo said it would limit electricity supply for businesses due to "significantly" lower power imports and lower generation.

The last time restrictions on power supplies were imposed on both businesses and households was after a big Russian missile and drone attack in late August.

It was unclear whether the new restrictions were linked to the latest attack. Ukraine's largest private power generator and distributor DTEK said the restrictions would apply to Kyiv, the surrounding region and the regions of Odesa, Dnipro and Donetsk.

Despite regular drone attacks, Russia has not struck Kyiv with missiles since Aug. 26 when it launched a massive attack across the country that officials said deployed more than 200 drones and missiles. That attack killed seven people, Ukraine said.

RT/Reuters

Each fall, a telephone call from Stockholm launches one or a few scholars to international fame with the bestowal of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences – a process that Irving Wallace dramatized in his 1962 potboiler The Prize.

This year, the call went to three figures who are already well-known, the economists Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the political scientist James A. Robinson of the University of Chicago. The three were recognized for their “studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity,” and in an interesting twist, the award comes exactly 15 years after the committee conferred it on Elinor Ostrom for her own work on institutions, particularly “for her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons.”

Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson (or AJR, as they are known) won the award primarily for their research into the role of colonialism in determining the economic fate of nations. Prominent social-science projects from Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism to Jared Diamond’s Gun, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies have long sought to explain the “great divergence” between Europe and its wealthy offshoots and the rest of the world. While AJR had the same goal, they pursued it in a new way, by asking why societies that were once relatively rich are now relatively poor, and vice versa.

In an influential 2002 paper, “Reversal of Fortune: Geography and Institutions in the Making of the Modern World Income Distribution,” AJR conclude that the key determinant of future growth is whether a country has “inclusive institutions” that allow economic gains to be shared broadly, as opposed to “extractive institutions” that siphon wealth to a narrow elite.

Whether a colonial power bequeathed inclusive or extractive institutions depended on various environmental and other factors. For example, in their most widely cited paper, “The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development,” AJR argue that the most effective predictor of future economic growth was how hospitable the terrain was for European settlers. The colonizers invested in good institutions in regions where their own chances of survival were higher – namely, the New World colonies of North America, Australia, and New Zealand.

AJR’s scholarship is sophisticated and innovative, and I, for one, appreciate their focus on institutions. They have continued the tradition pioneered by the Nobel laureate economist Douglass North in his magnum opus, Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance. Their prescriptions, however, are not new. Conventional “law and economics” theories and the Washington Consensus have long emphasized the importance of the rule of law in underwriting growth.

By contrast, Ostrom’s work on community-led institutional solutions genuinely broke new ground. She fundamentally altered our understanding of the role played by “polycentric institutions” that go beyond the dichotomies of market and state. Until she undertook her ground-breaking work (summarized in Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action), it was widely assumed that common property – including critical ecological configurations like forests, water systems, fisheries, and the global atmosphere – was inherently inefficient.

Ostrom’s extensive empirical investigations into self-organized systems – from water-management in California to irrigation in Nepal – demonstrated that this is not always the case. And her lab experiments showed that people are more willing to enforce mutually agreed rules than previously thought.

Most critically, Ostrom’s work examined the variables that correlate with, or create conditions for, cooperation to solve collective-action problems, showing (contrary to Garett Hardin’s classic work) that the challenges associated with the commons need not end in tragedy. By demonstrating that the success of institutions depends heavily on participants’ engagement with, and investments in, them, she pointed toward an alternative explanation for AJR’s results.

Recall AJR’s argument that countries where Western institutions were imposed, but where Europeans also settled in large numbers and thrived, later experienced the most rapid and robust growth. As I argue in a recent paper, the source of these societies’ success may not have been their inherent institutional superiority, but rather their inhabitants’ relative psychological familiarity with those institutions. After all, the cognitive and contextual mismatch between institutions and their surrounding environment has long been understood to play a part in the difficulties surrounding “legal transplantation” (importing legal codes from elsewhere).

In Wallace’s novel, the protagonist, poignantly, wins the Nobel Prize in Literature for a book called The Perfect State. While we wait for that ideal institution to be devised, we remain stubbornly reliant on flawed people to prop up our institutions. Fortunately, Ostrom showed that this is possible. As we celebrate AJR’s contributions, let us not forget Ostrom’s. While Acemoglu and Johnson’s bestseller Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty illuminates one path to prosperity, Ostrom’s scholarship shows that there could be many.

Project Syndicate

Melissa Houston

In business, setbacks and failures are inevitable. Every successful entrepreneur can share stories of moments they stumbled or faced rejection, obstacles, or outright failure. But here’s the truth: setbacks don't define the end of your journey; they are simply chapters in your story. If harnessed correctly, failures can be the stepping stones to your success.

Here’s how to transform your setbacks into valuable lessons:

1. Accept and Embrace Failure as a Learning Opportunity

Many entrepreneurs feel immense pressure to be perfect and avoid failure. However, failure is often the best teacher. When you experience a setback, the first step is to accept it and look for the lesson within it. Analyze what went wrong and consider what you could have done differently. Embrace the experience, as each mistake is a stepping stone to greater wisdom. This shift in perspective will allow you to reframe failure as a growth opportunity.

Key Takeaway: Develop a habit of conducting post-mortem assessments after setbacks. Ask yourself, “What can I learn from this?” and “How can I apply this lesson to my next venture?”

2. Refocus on Your Mission and Vision

When you experience a setback, it’s easy to get disheartened and lose sight of why you started. Return to your "why." Why did you start this business in the first place? What impact do you want to make? Reaffirming your mission and vision can help you stay grounded and remind you that setbacks are temporary obstacles on your long-term journey. Realigning with your purpose can reignite your passion and motivate you to keep moving forward.

Key Takeaway: Write down your mission and vision statements. Refer to them whenever you face a setback to stay focused on the bigger picture.

3. Adapt and Pivot When Necessary

Setbacks often indicate that something in your business strategy needs adjustment. Perhaps there is a product-market misalignment, or your marketing efforts aren’t resonating with your audience. Be willing to adapt and pivot. Some of the world’s most successful companies started with one idea, hit multiple roadblocks, and then pivoted into an entirely new direction that ultimately led to their success.

Key Takeaway: Evaluate what’s not working in your business model and explore new directions that align with your market’s needs. Flexibility is often the key to resilience.

4. Strengthen Your Skills and Knowledge

Failures and setbacks often expose gaps in knowledge or skill. Use this as an opportunity to grow by seeking new information or acquiring skills that can make you more resilient. Whether it’s learning about financial management, sales strategies, or mastering digital marketing, the more equipped you are, the better you’ll be at navigating challenges in the future.

Key Takeaway: Identify areas for improvement and invest in education or mentorship to fill those gaps. Business is a journey of constant learning, and setbacks reveal what you need to master next.

5. Build a Support System and Seek Mentorship

Resilient entrepreneurs know they don’t have to go through difficult times alone. A strong support system is invaluable, whether it’s a network of peers, mentors, or coaches. Surrounding yourself with people who have experienced similar struggles can provide guidance and encouragement when you need it most. Their insights can help you see challenges in a new light and discover strategies for moving forward.

Key Takeaway: Build a network of mentors, peers, and advisors who can support you through challenges. Join industry groups or networkingcommunities to find others who can help you stay motivated.

6. Set New Goals and Take Action

Failures can derail you if you let them, but they can also propel you to set new goals. Reevaluate your objectives and set clear, actionable goals that can guide you forward. Start small if necessary. Taking even the smallest steps toward improvement can build your confidence and keep your momentum strong.

Key Takeaway: Use setbacks as a motivator to redefine your goals. By setting and achieving small objectives, you can start building a new path to success.

7. Develop a Resilient Mindset

In the end, your mindset will be your biggest asset in overcoming setbacks. A resilient mindset will help you bounce back, take ownership of your mistakes, and continue pushing forward. Remind yourself that setbacks are part of the journey, and every successful entrepreneur has overcome them. Cultivating a growth mindset means seeing every failure as part of your success journey rather than a sign to give up.

Key Takeaway: Practice resilience by focusing on self-care, staying positive, and embracing challenges as opportunities for growth. Remember, a setback is not the end—it's a setup for a comeback.

The bottom line is that turning setbacks into success requires a proactive approach, a strong support network, and a resilient mindset. When you embrace failures as learning opportunities, stay committed to your mission, and keep moving forward with determination, you are already on the path to success.

Remember, every failure brings you closer to your goals if you’re willing to learn and adapt. Your business journey may be filled with challenges, but each setback holds the potential to shape you into a stronger, wiser, and more successful entrepreneur.

Forbes

Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, minister of interior, says the ministry’s command and control centre established to curb the illegal entry of foreigners into the country is fully active.

Speaking on Tuesday during his appearance on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, Tunji-Ojo said the centre has commenced 24-hour operation since Monday.

On October 28, the minister said the federal government planned to establish a command and control centre to check irregular migration into the country.

He noted that the centre would be responsible for the rigorous screening of individuals entering Nigeria via land borders.

“We did the induction programme about two weeks ago. Just yesterday, we started the 24-hour operation of the command and control centre at Soka, the immigration headquarters in Abuja,” Tunji-Ojo said.

“All our international airports are on it. It’s there, live and direct. Even our land and sea borders are being integrated there because of what we call a regular migration control centre.

“And the APIS that I promised the other time—that’s the advanced passenger information system—is also live now.

“We started receiving data from KLM and a lot of others. So, we have started the pre-profiling of people before they come into Nigeria, taking a decision, looking and integrating, which is integrated to the criminal records system, to the Interpol, and a lot of other things I won’t be able to talk deeply into. So that is live and direct.”

The minister said the control centre enables authorities to be well-informed about individuals, their current location, origin, recent movements, and travel route before they arrive in the country.

“So, what it means now is that it’s no longer subjective profiling. What we do now is objective profiling, just like you see anywhere in the world. And what we have in Nigeria, it’s not just an API,” he said.

“It’s an IAPI, an interactive API, which is top-notch, the best you can get anywhere in the world, and I challenge anybody to dispute that; we already have that.”

He added that every detail, from the command centre to the visa approval center, has been carefully addressed to guarantee seamless functionality within the complex.

Tunji-Ojo said the ministry installed a 500kW and 0.5MW solar farm to ensure uninterrupted operations of the control centre.

The Cable

The The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has restricted licensed flight crew members from operating multiple airlines.

NCAA issued the restriction, saying its findings shows that pilots and other crew members render services to different airlines.

In a circular NCAA/DGCA/AOL dated November 6th 2024 and signed by the Ag. Director-General, Civil Aviation, Chris Najomo, declared the act as illegal.

According to the circular, instances where pilots operate for more than one airline concurrently pose risk to safety.

It said the licence issued to pilot or any member of the flight crew is operator-specific based on the approved Standards Operating Procedures (SOPs).

The circular issued to Accountable Managers/Director of Flight Operations and Chief Pilots titled, “PROHIBITION OF AD-HOC FLIGHT OPERATIONS FOR MULTIPLE AIRLINES” read: “It has come to the notice of the authority through our surveillance reports that licensed
flight crew members utilize the privileges simulators and proficiency checks endersed on their license to operate for multiple airlines.

“The Flight Simulator Training Device/facility approved by the Authority si operator specific based on the training program and the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for such an operator.

“Instances where pilots operate for more than one arline concurrently without safety considerations of such actions poses a safety risk to the industry.”

The CAA stated that with effect from the date of issuance of this Directive, all operators and holders of pilot license are informed that this action will be treated as a violation of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations.

“The Authority wil take appropriate enforcement action on violators of this directive, affective from 11th November, 2024.

“Simulator renewals from henceforih will be tied to the Operator. Please comply accordingly,” the circular added.

Daily Trust

Multichoice Group, an African pay-TV operator, says its Nigerian subsidiary lost 243,000 subscribers across its DStv and GOtv services between April and September 2024.

In its financial result for the year ended September 30, 2024, published on Tuesday, MultiChoice said high cost of food, electricity, and petrol have forced many of its customers to ditch their decoders.

The company said Nigeria and Zambia recorded the largest share of subscribers loss.

It added that the pressure on its subscriber base in Rest of Africa (RoA) operations continued from the previous year leading to a loss of 566,000 subscribers across the operations in the six months under review.

“The group’s linear subscriber base declined by 11% or 1.8m subscribers YoY to 14.9m active subscribers at 30 September 2024,” MultiChoice said.

“The loss in the Rest of Africa has been primarily due to the significant consumer pressure in Nigeria, where inflation has remained above 30% for the majority of the last 12 months and, more recently, due to extreme power disruptions in Zambia.

“Of this decline, 298k related to Zambia and 243k related to Nigeria, with remaining markets on the continent reflecting only a minor decline of 25k.”

On foreign exchange (FX) rate, the company said the continued depreciation of the naira against the dollar has resulted in further losses on non-quasi equity loans.

“The group held USD11m in cash in Nigeria at period-end, down from USD39m at end FY24, a consequence of consistent focus on remitting cash, the impact of

translating the balance at the weaker naira and the write-off of the USD21m receivable relating to the cash held with Heritage Bank before its license was revoked and the bank was liquidated,” MultiChoice said.

‘COMPANY FACING MOST CHALLENGING CONDITIONS’ 

Commenting on the company’s results, Calvo Mawela, MultiChoice group chief executive officer (CEO), said the company is facing its most challenging operating conditions in almost 40 years.

To generate returns, Mawela said the company has been “proactive in its focus to right-size the business for the current economic realities and industry changes”.

He said while operating across Africa “typically subjects the group to currency moves, abnormal currency weakness over the past 18 months has reduced the group’s profits by close to R7 billion”.

“Combined with the impact of a weak macro environment on consumers’ disposable income and therefore on subscriber growth, it required the Group to fundamentally adjust its cost base – which is exactly what has been done,” he said.  

“We are making good progress in addressing the technical insolvency that resulted from non-cash accounting entries at the end of the last financial year. 

“We expect to return to a positive net equity position by the end of November this year, supported by a number of developments and initiatives. The Group’s liquidity position remains strong, with over ZAR10bn in total available funds.”

On May 1, MultiChoice implemented an increase in subscription prices for DStv and GOtv packages — despite the tribunal ruling against it on April 25.

The next month, the tribunal fined MultiChoice N150 million and ordered the company to provide one-month free subscriptions on DStv and GOtv to Nigerians.

MultiChoice vowed to appeal the ruling.

The Cable