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The Nigeria Air, And AGF Malami Comparing Open Grazing To Trading Spare Parts

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Nigeria wants to run a national air carrier and the government is promising that a new one will begin operations in 2022: “In this 2021, we will try to do all the needful and probably we intend to start operations somewhere around first quarter 2022”. The nation’s Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, announced the date while speaking to newsmen after the Federal Executive Council on Wednesday.

First, I do not think that it is a good idea for Nigeria to float a national carrier at this time. We are yet to know why our previous voyages into this sector failed. Yes, unless we can explain that, going into this again makes no sense. It is simply going to be another avenue to distract the government  from focusing on what matters.

While we hope that ticket prices drop, the fact is that the local aviation industry, through the private sector, continues to march on. We do not need the government because its impacts may not really matter. But it will cost the Nigerian people resources which could have been deployed in other areas.

“In this 2021, we will try to do all the needful and probably we intend to start operations somewhere around first quarter 2022,” he said.

“It is still in top gear, we are coming back to Council, hopefully within the next two weeks, to present the memo on the national carrier,” he said.

“We went to Council to approve the outline business case for the carrier and then the Council raised some questions and asked us to go and file the memo again and bring it back.

“So, once it comes back and the outline business case is approved by Council, then, of course, we will now go to the full business case, which is now going to the market and then establishing the national carrier.

“It was our intention to have a national carrier running in 2021, which is this year. Unfortunately due to COVID, which took the greater part of last year, since March last year, activities are almost impossible.

“Of course, for obvious reasons, we now have access to equipment, that they will come faster to us, deliveries of the aircraft will be faster, perhaps even the rates might be cheaper and so on, and so forth.”

Today, national carriers thrive based on many factors. The most critical being that airlines are like the double plays to a home one oasis. Emirates runs on the strength of Dubai tourism boom. The Ethiopian Airlines has an edge, as Addis Ababa is the headquarters of the African Union with many natural traffics. More so, Nigeria has no chance to offer cost-efficiency which typically comes via scale, against Ethiopian and other global brands.

Our government while thinking that an airline will bring national pride needs to calibrate on this. Our private sector can serve the nation while the government focuses on making sure our airports run at world-class standards.

But this may not matter since the Attorney General of the Federation believes that banning open grazing in the southern part of Nigeria could be compared with banning spare parts in the northern part: “The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, on Wednesday, slammed Southern governors for banning open grazing in the region. According to the AGF, open grazing ban is the same thing as Northern governors banning spare parts trading in their own region considering the fact that Southerners comprise a majority of spare parts traders in the North.”

His thinking is extremely offensive when you look at individual liberty and property rights. No one says that you cannot do open grazing. What people are saying is that you cannot graze your cattle, and destroy another person’s crops. So, where the cattle cannot stop that destruction, it has to change its process. Equating open grazing to spare parts shows we are fact-free, critical thinking-free, and any attempt to have a national conversation has no chance. So, the national carrier, Nigeria Air, will likely launch.

A governor responded to Malami thus:

His response to Mr Malami was made available to journalists on Thursday morning by his spokesperson, Olabode Richard.

Mr Akeredolu wrote as the leader of the Southern Governors Forum.

He said it is most “unfortunate that the AGF is unable to distil issues as expected of a Senior Advocate. Nothing can be more disconcerting.

“This outburst should, ordinarily, not elicit a response from reasonable people who know the distinction between a legitimate business that is not in any way injurious and a certain predilection for anarchy,” said Mr Akeredolu, who is also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

“Clinging to an anachronistic model of animal husbandry, which is evidently injurious to the harmonious relationship between the herders and the farmers as well as the local populace, is wicked and arrogant.

Finally, Nigerian Senate Approves 5G Roll Out

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Nigerian Senate has lifted the suspension of 5G deployment in Nigeria about one year after it was ordered.

This Day reported that the upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly has approved the deployment of the 5G network in Nigeria, following the outcome of the investigation by a Joint Committee mandated to look into the Status of 5G Network in Nigeria and its technological impact on Nigerian citizens.

The approval was sequel to the consideration and adoption of the report of Joint Committee on Communications, Science and Technology, ICT and Cyber Crimes, and Primary Health Care and Communicable Diseases, presented by the Chairman, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, at plenary on Wednesday.

In May 2020, following growing safety concerns fueled by conspiracy theories, the Senate has asked the Federal Government to suspend 5G roll out until its safety status is ascertained, and directed its Committee on Communication, Science, Technology and ICT, and that of Health to commence a thorough investigation into the status of 5G in the country.

The Committee, having concluded its investigation, said that the technological impact of 5G will revolutionize Nigerians’ way of life from education to agriculture, security to entertainment, and governance in general if the technology was deployed.

It explained that its decision to recommend the deployment of the 5G technology was based on information provided by government establishments such as the Federal ministry of communications and Digital Economy, the Nigerian Communications Commission, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the National Information Technology Development Agency etc, and other telecoms professional organizations such as the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) and the Global System of Mobile Communications Association.

Nigerian Communication Commission had in June last year, issued a statement discrediting the conspiracy theories.

“The deployment of 5G technologies will consequently promote the National Digital Economy for a Digital Nigeria that will improve the way Nigerians live and work. 5G has been deployed commercially and in use in some countries. As with the previous technologies, the International Commission for Non-ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNRP) has classified radiation from 5G as non-ionizing and therefore safe for human beings,” the Commission had said.

Satisfied with their independent findings, the Upper Chamber urged relevant Government Agencies to embark on preparing the ground by putting the necessary infrastructure and technology in place for its eventual deployment.

Nigerian telecom sector has shown defying growth in the face of COVID-19 pandemic that plummeted other sectors of the economy, including the oil industry. Embracing the 5G network means more opportunity for the telecom industry to thrive in accord with global trends.

The Senate called on the Federal Government to ensure that global standards for the deployment of 5G technology are strictly adhered to, while looking out for lessons learnt by countries that have already deployed in order to guide our own deployment.

The Senate decision thus set Nigeria on the path of the $2.2 trillion 5G economy. With her booming population, the African giant has a viable market that needs to be prepared for the 5G opportunities.

The 5G technologies are expected to provide jobs in key sectors such as Manufacturing/utilities and professional/financial services, contributing $2.2 trillion to the global economy between 2024 and 2034.

Tips for Investing In the Stock Market

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Stock market investment is one of the smart ways of making long-term wealth. However, for beginners, the experiences can be stressful and complicated because they still have not learned a lot. The stock market is now more accessible to interested parties than ever because some years ago, expensive stockbrokers took up your investment agenda.

Currently, you do not have to experience the brokers’ hefty fees because you can invest whatever sum of money in the comfort of your house. The internet is filled with sufficient investment advice and information and so a beginner can comfortably start earning. The article herein illustrates some tips for investing in the stock market.

Addressing the Basics

Even before investing a single dollar, you must handle the basics of daily finance. Therefore, you should have an emergency kitty, and settling high-interest debts because the investment is highly financial intensive.

Indeed, a financial professional can advise you to maintain expenditure on the emergency fund for about six months, enough to address urgent situations or cover a period of dipped income like unemployment. You would not want to dispose of your investments because of unachieved living expenses, and so a vibrant emergency fund is necessary. Addressing the basics helps you to stabilize and establish yourself in the stock market business.

Determine Timelines and Goals

Various investment approaches exist necessitated by different goals and objectives. Therefore, you should have substantial reasons for investing in the market. You can decide to preserve some capital, and earn from it later. This strategy calls for a conservative portfolio because you concentrate on the safer agencies or specialize in bond investment.

A long-term investor willing to establish retirement savings should focus on the highest returning stocks, and so must focus on the stock price target. Your investment timeline also influences your strategies because a young investor can live with volatilities like staking in high-rewarding and risky stocks. An investment that gives you extended positive returns might not be problematic even if you lose in a bad period.

Traders in stock exchange

Risk Tolerance

Your stock investment portfolio depends on how much risk you can tolerate. If going for a long-term investment, and want to boost the portfolio’s value, you can be deterred by your risk tolerance. Risky investors can establish a stock portfolio as far as the time horizon is long and favorable, unlike the less risky ones who want to combine bonds with stocks.

Young investors should be highly risky because they have enough time to improve their credit ratings and service their investments. However, some elderly investors are willing to take the right options because they want higher returns before their credibility runs out.

Hire a Brokerage

Stock market investments have gained momentum across the world, especially with the emergence of many companies. Therefore, you can select the right brokerage to guide you through the investment process. Brokerage firms differ based on certain features, accounts, and fees, and your needs determine the one to work with. Brokerage agencies with IRA options are suitable for individuals saving for retirement plans.

Your investment ideas and strategies determine the brokerage firm you prefer because some have mutual funds, and no commissions are charged on buying funds. Individual stocks investment requires you to land a brokerage that helps to avoid costs like trade commissions and account fees. This will help to escape the huge expenditure on portfolio establishment.

Do Due Diligence

Whether investing in bonds or individual stocks, mutual funds, or other securities, performing due diligence is important. Therefore, you must research all these investments before making the purchasing decisions. All public companies should submit documents showing the revenues, account balances, and expenses that will help a potential investor understand the contents.

If a target firm has low cash balances, falling revenues, and high debt, you should hold back your investment plans unless you are ready for the risk. Research on certain investment metrics because they help to compare and contrast various businesses. You can even consult technical analysts who assess the price charts to determine patterns and predict how the price changes are expected to turn out in the coming days.

Once convinced by stock research details, you should develop a perfect strategy and implement it wisely. You can exploit some research investment tools that give real-time quotes, professional news, and companies’ comparisons.

Biden to Offer Point-of-Sale Rebates for Electric Car Buyers

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In line with his pro green promises, the US president Joe Biden is taking more steps to encourage the production and use of electric vehicles in the United States.

A report from Bloomberg said the Biden administration desires to offer customers rebates for buying electrical autos to assist the U.S. compete towards China in manufacturing the subsequent era of cars, according to White Home Local weather Advisor Gina McCarthy.

President Joe Biden is “seeking to make investments greater than $170 billion and he’s going to construct out the electrical charging stations that we want for customers to purchase these autos and really feel assured that they’ll get the place they wish to go and again once more,” McCarthy stated in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Bloomberg Expertise.”

“He’s taking a look at truly offering shopper rebates on the level of sale,” she stated.

This does more than augment the existing EV tax credit score incentive which has come under criticism.

In January, Biden vowed to replace the US government’s fleet of about 650,000 vehicles with environmentally friendly electric models, as a way of setting an example for other car users.

During his campaign, Biden had promised to “make a major federal commitment to purchase clean vehicles for federal, state, tribal, postal, and local fleets.” He also vowed to create 1 million new jobs in the “American auto industry, domestic auto supply chains, and auto infrastructure, from parts to material to electric vehicle charging stations.”

As part of his climate action, he said he would build 550,000 EV charging stations and spend more in clean energy research. He also supports new consumer rebates to replace old, less-efficient vehicles with newer electric vehicles and incentives for manufacturers to build or retool factories to assemble EVs and parts.

Bloomberg reported that as a part of his multi trillion-dollar infrastructure bundle, Biden has requested Congress to assist pay for 500,000 electrical car charging stations and supply customers with rebates for his or her electrical automotive purchases.

Motorists have already got some monetary incentive to forgo standard gas-powered vehicles for electrical fashions. A current tax credit score is valued at as much as $7,500 for the acquisition of an electrical car, although Tesla Inc. and General Motors Co. have already handed a 200,000-per-manufacturer ceiling at which the worth of these credit phases down.

Critics say the present EV tax credit score has mainly benefited rich People. In contrast, a point-of-sale rebate — which can also be championed by Senate Majority Chief Chuck Schumer — may assist encourage extra low- and middle-income motorists to purchase electrical autos.

Biden touted his $174 billion plan to rework the auto trade throughout a go to a Ford Motor Co. plant in Michigan on Tuesday, full with a test drive of the corporate’s new all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck.

McCarthy forged Biden’s auto plans as essential to compete towards China in constructing electrical autos that she stated “are the long run.”

“The president is worried that China is way forward of us within the electrical car market,” McCarthy stated. “As a substitute of manufacturing the applied sciences of the long run, we’re importing them from some place else.”

Aside from his environmental interest, Biden is worried that without drastic measures, the US will not catch up with China, currently the world largest EV market.

There has been an uptick of carmakers seeking to establish EV plants in the US, but the major concern lies on the interest of consumers, their willingness to do away with their combustible vehicles for environmental friendly ones. The Chinese government fueled consumers’ interests in electric vehicles with tax credits and subsidies, cutting the cost and igniting the EV passion.

With Tesla still leading the electric vehicle industry, especially in the US, the government’s move to introduce rebates will mean more sales for the world’s most valuable carmaker.