Arik Changes Golf Order at Independence Day Cup

Nigerian flight operator, Arik Air has said it is set for a long-haul association with the game of golf. The assurance followed its grand entry to the game in form of sponsorship activation at the Independence Day Cup at the IBB International Golf and Country Club, Abuja.

The first known golf activity by the company that runs both local and international flight operations happened on the day Nigeria was commemorating its 53rd anniversary.

Golf watchers have seen the sponsorship of the tournament that left a lasting memory for all, will bring new order to golf sponsorship and redefine lifestyle on the fairways.

The week-long tournament was organised by the IBB International Golf and Country Club and attracted the crème of the country’s political moguls, business leaders and members of the diplomatic corps.
The ceremonial tee-off was performed by Senator Isaiah Balat, who represented Vice President Namadi Sambo.

Balat later played the ceremonial four-ball with a group of others which included the Chairman of Arik Air, Sir Johnson Arumeni-Ikhide, Captain of IBB Club, Debo Olateju and the Managing Director of Arik Air, Chris Ndulue.

Arumeni-Ikhide, who was full of excitement as he approached the first tee, told reporters that the company was motivated into the sponsorship because it believed in the unity and indivisibility of Nigeria.

He said Arik Air chose golf and spared no expenses for the Independence Day events because it wanted to bring people together and to promote friendship.

“Nigeria belongs to all of us and I don’t think anything is too small to spend on unity. We derive a great pleasure to be a part of the activities to mark Nigeria’s 53rd Independence activities. We are proud to serve Nigeria which is work in progress and I think with the right attitude we get there” Arumeni- Ikhide said.

Balat, who was a former minister of state for works and housing and a senator representing Kaduna South, conceded that it had been a long time since IBB Club derived a massive sponsorship on the scale seen at the golf course at the occasion under focus.
He asked Arik Air to sustain the tempo given that most of its patrons are golfers and regular travellers on the local and international routes.

Arumeni- Ikhide said the company boasted of some of the best planes in the aviation industry and is concerned about passengers’ comfort. He said the airline would soon commence regular flights to new routes like Dubai, Europe and Brazil.

The company mounted a miniature plane on the golf course and inside the club house. It also recreated its cutting edge on board service and hospitality by remodeling the Kira Bar where those discerning business travellers flying in the Premier Business Class will be also be able to relax and unwind in Arik’s exclusive on- board bar and lounge facility.

Inside the corporate tent were cabin hostesses who served golfers snacks and stemming hot coffee and tea while they waited for the starter to announce their tee off time.
Later in the day, a marquee tent was sandwiched between holes number 10 and 18 where golfers who had just completed their round were lavished with choice drinks, canapés and other finger foods.

The visiting delegation of Achimota Golf Club, Ghana led by Rene Gamali- Kwame, played an international match play with the host club, IBB International Golf and Country over two days.

The Ghanaians, who traditionally visit Abuja whenever Nigeria is marking its Independence day, were trounced 51 ½ - 23 ½ after losing both the single and double matches.
The cynosure of all eyes at the event, however, was Oludare Bello who posted 41 stableford points to emerge as the overall winner.
Bello, an 8-handicapper and former Captain of IBB Club, won the Independence Day trophy, commemorative plaques and a free Arik Air business class flight ticket on a chosen international route.

Another winner was Ado Samba who survived the battle of wit to claim the men prize in division one category. The shot-maker, who plays golf off handicap 11, narrowly edged out Dipo Sanya by one point after returning 38points.  Emeka Okatta was also one of the players in the chasing pack. He finished third after beating K. Ndubuisi on countback (36 points).

Chris Shaiyen bagged 37 points and the Division 2 trophy at the expense of Tsengu Tsegba also on countback rule, while Rachel Danjuma beat Alice Yaduma by two points on the strength of the 36 points she tallied to secure the ladies division title for players from handicap 0-20 flight category. Faridah Wada and Sandra Suwa were both seven points adrift of the lead.
Mirabel Edozie proved to be too much for the rest of the field in the female division 2 category. She emerged the winner after amassing 36 points, four more than Ekanem Ekwueme.

The professional competition was won by Gboyega Oyebanji who beat Oche Odoh and Aminu Baba by one shot after he posted score of a one over par 73.

Culled from Thisday

13 Killed as Plane Bearing Agagu’s Remains Crashes

Associated Airlines Plane crash

 

•Son, six others survive 

•Jonathan mourns victims, orders investigation 

•Oduah promises thorough probe

Thirteen persons were confirmed dead Thursday when an Associated Airlines plane bearing the remains of a former Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Agagu, to Akure for funeral rites, crashed within the vicinity of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, shortly after take-off.

Seven other passengers on board the plane that burst into flames after crashing, including Agagu’s only son, Feyi, were rescued and taken to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Metta, and the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) 445 Medical Reference Hospital, Lagos, for treatment.

The casket, in which Agagu’s remains were encased, was also recovered and later taken away in a NAF ambulance with registration number AF054E1 to the office of the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB).

The plane had on board 13 passengers, who were part of the funeral party for Agagu, a former Minister of Aviation during the first term of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999, and seven flight crew.

According to the manifest, passengers on the ill-fated plane were Feyi Agagu; state Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Mr. Deji Falae, who is the son of former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and presidential candidate in the 1999 general election, Olu Falae; Femi Akinsanya; Akintunde Joseph; Akeem Akintunde; Tunji Okusanya Snr. of MIC Caskets, the funeral undertakers based in Lagos, Chijioke Duru; Kingsley Amaechi, Deji Afolabi, Mrs. A.O. Alabi, Daji Bernard; a protocol officer in the Ondo Government House;  Samson Hassan; and Olatunji Okusanya Jr. of MIC Caskets.

The seven flight crew were Captain Yakubu, Flight Officer Oyinlola, Soroh Ebiya, a flight dispatcher identified as Ibrahim, Mr. Felix Latoya, and cabin attendants, Owolabi and Samson.
Although the manifest has not been faulted by concerned authorities, THSDAY gathered that after the pilot of the flight had filed the manifest, which contained 13 passengers and seven crew to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), about seven other passengers boarded the 30-seater aircraft.

NCAA was therefore in a dilemma to declare the names that were not on the manifest, even as it knew that the number of the passengers were more than 20 as declared.

Among the undeclared passengers were prominent personalities who might be declared wanted over time, except the regulatory body and their relatives agree to make their names public.
The accident, which came barely 16 months after a Dana Air Flight J9 092 crashed at the Iju/Ishaga area of the state, killing 153 passengers, created chaos at the airport and a terrible traffic snarl that stretched to several kilometres.

THISDAY gathered that barely a minute after the pilot took off, the aircraft could not gain altitude and as it banked to gain its bearing, it nosedived to the ground without warning.

A source alleged that the aircraft, an Embraer turboprop series, had not gone for maintenance checks for a long time until Tuesday when it was prepared for the doomed flight.

The airline’s management said in a statement that it was currently cooperating fully with the aviation regulatory authorities with a view to establishing the remote and other causes of the accident.

“Our prayers go out to the affected families of the departed. We pray for their souls to rest in perfect peace while we continue to wish and pray for the speedy and full recovery of the survivors of this grave and sad accident.

“We shall continue to provide information on this accident firstly to the affected families out of respect to them as we receive it. The aircraft was chartered for flight to Akure,” it said.
The presidency yesterday summoned the Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah, a few minutes before she was about to address the media on the plane crash.

But shortly after her departure to heed the summons, her media aide, Mr. Joe Obi, issued a statement, which the minister was billed to read.

Oduah, in the statement, said: “This morning (yesterday) at 0932 hours, local time, an Embraer 120 aircraft, with registration number 5N-BIT operated by Associated Airlines on a private charter flight from Lagos to Akure, crashed shortly after take-off from the domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammad International Airport.

“At departure, the crew of the chartered operation reported 20 persons on board, including crew.
“We can confirm that there were six (later updated to eight by the ministry) survivors on the aircraft and four are in stable condition while two are critical but they are all receiving attention in the hospitals.

“The authorities are contacting families of the victims of this unfortunate incident, and upon completion, will make information about the identities of the victims public.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this difficult time.”

The black box, according to her, had been located and was in the custody of the Accident Investigation and Prevention Bureau (AIPB), which with the cooperation of NCAA, and other relevant agencies commenced full investigation into the cause of the accident.

“While it is too early to determine the cause of the accident, we urge the public to be patient while the investigation progresses. I assure the public that the investigation will be thorough and that our airspace remains safe and secure,” she added.

Also speaking on the casualties, the General Manager, Federal Airports Authorities of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr. Yakubu Dati, said 14 persons had been confirmed dead while five who were severely injured were rushed to the hospital.

AIB Commissioner, Usman Muktar, told reporters that the flight data recorder (black box) had been recovered, adding that it was too early to speculate on the cause of the crash.
Another senior AIB official, Emmanuel Diala, said details of what caused the crash would only be determined after the analysis of the data box.

National Emergency Agency (NEMA), South-west Zone spokesman, Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye, told THISDAY shortly after the rescue operation was underway that the agency and the state fire service rushed to the scene of the incident immediately the news of the crash broke.

He said: “We got to the scene and combined efforts to put out the fire before other emergency stakeholders joined in. We took the rescued persons to the hospital. In total, we brought out 15 persons, made up of eight dead and seven alive. But one of the initial survivors died on the way to the hospital.

“When we got to the scene, it was easier to rescue the survivors because they were at the rear end of the plane and the fire didn't get to them much, because the plane broke into two on impact with the ground.

“However, while we were on the way to the hospital, one of the survivors died as a result of shock and possible internal haemorrhage but that is subject to autopsy results.

“The survivors are in a stable condition at the moment as they were not badly burnt. But they cannot talk at the moment because they are traumatised. They are currently in the emergency ward of LASUTH.”

A senior member of staff of Sahara Energy, whose aviation fuel tank farm was within the vicinity where the plane crashed, said the situation could have been worse if they had not reacted immediately by carrying out an emergency fire dousing exercise before the emergency agencies arrived.

He said: “We were working there when we heard a loud bang. We all rushed outside and saw the inferno. As we have been drilled several times for such situations, our emergency unit immediately kicked into action.

“We had already started dousing the fire when the emergency services came. We couldn’t rescue anyone because the inferno was considerable and at that point, the focus was to prevent the fire from extending to the tank farms.”

After rescue workers had recovered the bodies of the dead and brought out the survivors, they set about to evacuate the casket containing the remains of the former governor.
Also, hours after the rescue operation, the Lagos State Chief Coroner and Pathologist from LASUTH, Prof. John Obafunwa, visited the crash scene.

THISDAY gathered that the coroner was at the scene with his team to gather forensics that would aid the autopsy to be carried out later at the morgue, in line with the state’s Coroner’s Law.
As at press time, it was gathered that the bodies of the victims, had been deposited at the Lekan Ogunsola Memorial Mortuary of LASUTH, Ikeja, where those of the Dana crash victims were deposited before an autopsy was done on them.

Meanwhile President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday received with great shock and sadness, news of the tragic airplane crash in Lagos.

On behalf of himself, his family and the federal government, the president extended condolences to all the families who lost loved ones in the plane crash, and to the government and people of Ondo State who were plunged into sorrow yet again while preparing to lay their former governor to rest.

The president said he felt and shared the grief and pain of the Agagu family as they grapple with the further loss of beloved relatives and associates so soon after losing their husband, father and mentor.

He prayed that God Almighty would comfort the Agagu family, as well as their relatives and friends, and grant them the divine grace to overcome the trauma of this most trying time.
Jonathan said he viewed the plane crash as most unfortunate and regrettable, given the concerted efforts of the federal government to enhance aviation safety in the country.

He ordered a thorough investigation into the crash by all relevant agencies with a view to determining the cause and taking further actions, as may become necessary.

ON BOARD
  Feyi Agagu (Survivor)
  Femi Akinsanya (Survivor)
  Akintunde Joseph (Survivor)
  Akeem Akintunde (Survivor)
  Tunji Okusanya Snr.
  Chijioke Duru
  Kingsley Amaechi
  Deji Afolabi
  Mrs. A.O. Alabi
  Daji Bernard
  Deji Falae
  Samson Hassan
  Olatunji Okusanya Jnr.

Crew
  Captain Yakubu
  Flight Officer Oyinlola
  Engineer Soroh Ebiya
  Flight Dispatcher Ibrahim
  Mr. Felix Latoya
  Queeneth Owolabi (Survivor)
Cabin attendant Samson

Culled from Thisday

As part of the goodwill messages for Nigeria’s 53rd Independence Day celebration, the chairman, Arik Air International, Sir Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide, has urged Nigerians to embrace peace and unity in order to move the nation forward. The Arik Air boss, who made this plea at the tee-off ceremony of the 2013 Golf Independence day tournament at the IBB golf and country club sponsored by Arik Air yesterday, noted that it is an honour to be given the opportunity to sponsor such event on such historic day in the history of Nigeria.

Speaking on the amount of funds invested in the tournament, Arumemi-Ikhide stated that there is no amount of money that is too much to be spent on the celebration of a country’s independence; especially in a game like golf where people from different parts of the world come to partake in.

He however charged the National Sports Commission, NSC and the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF on the need to patronise local products and services noting that it is an embarrassment to the nation for a country like Nigeria to be going for an international competition against Ethiopia aboard an Ethiopian airline.

Earlier, the representative of the Vice President, Senator Isaiah Balat stated that the massive sponsorship of the event by Arik Air is highly commendable and urged the Nigerian official airline to keep up with the good work it is doing and always come to the rescue of sports events in Nigeria. While expressing gratitude for the support of Arik Air, Captain of the IBB club, Olateju Debo pledged to make the airline the official carrier of the IBB club and country home.

The golf tournament is a yearly event and as part of this year’s programme, competitions started September 17, for the residents in the Country home and the workers in the club house in order to give them the opportunity of experiencing what has been going on around them. The event, which included golf, with more than 220 golfers who participated; and tennis, with 22 players participating in singles, masters, veterans and professionals; kicked off with a pre-tourney cocktail on Monday.

culled from Leadership

Golf Independence Tourney: Arik Air Preaches Peace, Unity

By: Ejike O. Ejike on October 2, 2013 - 4:55am

inShare

As part of the goodwill messages for Nigeria’s 53rd Independence Day celebration, the chairman, Arik Air International, Sir Joseph Arumemi-Ikhiole, has urged Nigerians to embrace peace and unity in order to move the nation forward. The Arik Air boss, who made this plea at the tee-off ceremony of the 2013 Golf Independence day tournament at the IBB golf and country club sponsored by Arik Air yesterday, noted that it is an honour to be given the opportunity to sponsor such event on such historic day in the history of Nigeria.
Speaking on the amount of funds invested in the tournament, Arumemi-Ikhiole stated that there is no amount of money that is too much to be spent on the celebration of a country’s independence; especially in a game like golf where people from different parts of the world come to partake in.
He however charged the National Sports Commission, NSC and the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF on the need to patronise local products and services noting that it is an embarrassment to the nation for a country like Nigeria to be going for an international competition against Ethiopia aboard an Ethiopian airline.
Earlier, the representative of the Vice President, Senator Isaiah Balat stated that the massive sponsorship of the event by Arik Air is highly commendable and urged the Nigerian official airline to keep up with the good work it is doing and always come to the rescue of sports events in Nigeria. While expressing gratitude for the support of Arik Air, Captain of the IBB club, Olateju Debo pledged to make the airline the official carrier of the IBB club and country home.
The golf tournament is a yearly event and as part of this year’s programme, competitions started September 17, for the residents in the Country home and the workers in the club house in order to give them the opportunity of experiencing what has been going on around them. The event, which included golf, with more than 220 golfers who participated; and tennis, with 22 players participating in singles, masters, veterans and professionals; kicked off with a pre-tourney cocktail on Monday.

- See more at: http://leadership.ng/news/021013/golf-independence-tourney-arik-air-preaches-peace-unity#sthash.CiowSgY4.dpuf

Enough Of Security Breaches At Airports

Angry passengers were reported to have grounded the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, last Thursday. They had booked to fly to the Margaret Ekpo International Airport in Calabar but were delayed for hours due to, as the airline later explained, the movement of VIPs and bad weather. By the time the aircraft was cleared to fly, it was well behind schedule, and, by the time it  reached Calabar, the station manager had closed the airport. There was no lighting at the airport and the aircraft had to return to Abuja.

It is unfortunate that the nation has witnessed another awful embarrassment -- another security breach at one of its leading international airports. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has expressed its displeasure over the incident, but, according to the spokespersons of the airline, Arik Air, concerted efforts were made to pacify the passengers: they were offered flight seats to Uyo but a number of them refused while about  45 passengers accepted the offer. The NCAA, citing the Consumer Bill of Rights, has stated that the passengers are entitled to compensation from the airline for the three hours’ delay. But the matter is more complicated.

Security breaches at our airports are becoming frequent. From airplanes running into cows at the airport tarmacs to adventurers driving onto the tarmacs and into the underbelly of aircraft in addition to stowaways, they are both alarming and embarrassing for the nation. Why, in the first place, did air traffic control in Abuja clear the flight when it knew that the lights at the Calabar airport would have been switched off when the service would arrive at its destination? It is rather curious that instead of the NCAA to investigate and deal with the picketing of the airport, it is already threatening to punish the airline. What signal is this sending to the world about the safety of our airports? We are concerned about the current state of professionalism - if it still exists at all - at the NCAA. The aviation ministry recently stated that it was repositioning its airports to be competitive internationally. We hope the envisaged reform includes the thorny issue of security.

The NCAA should wake up to its responsibility as the agency charged with ensuring that airports are safe and secure. The closure of the Margaret Ekpo Airport for the reason of poor lighting is most indicting. Any international airport or landing facility under the NCAA that endangers the lives of citizens and visitors  alike over such a sickening excuse needs a massive intervention. And this has unfortunately exposed the lie in the so-called renovation and repositioning for competition and development.
Editorial by Leadership Newspapers

NCAA licenses 26 airlines for flight operations

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has released a list of licensed scheduled commercial and charter airlines in its registry as parts of measures to clamp down on illegal charter airline operations in the country.

In the list released through a public notice on Sunday, the NCAA said only 26 operators had been cleared “to carry passengers and cargo for a commercial fee.”

The approved airlines include: Aero Contractors Nigeria, Allied Air, Arik Air, Associated Aviation, Atlantic Aviation, Bristow Helicopters, Caverton Helicopters, Chanchangi Airlines and Dana Airlines.

Others are Dornier Aviation, FirstNation Airways, Hak Air, IRS Airlines, Jed Air, Kabo Airlines, King Airlines, Max Air and Med-View Airlines.

 Odengene Air Shuttle Service, Overland Airways, Pan African Airlines, Skybird Air, Skyjet Aviation, Skypower Express Airways, Topbrass Aviation and West Link Airways complete the list.

It said the listed companies were the only holders of Air Operators Certificates.

In a footnote to the list, the Director-General, NCAA, Captain Fola Akinkuotu, said it had come to the notice of the agency that “several unlicensed operators have engaged in the extremely dangerous practice of providing air transportation without meeting the regulatory requirements and without appropriate insurance coverage.”

Akinkuotu further said, “Some of these illegal operators do not have the requisite maintenance facilities, thus seriously endangering the lives of Nigerians. Worse still, these illegal operators employ mostly foreigners as crew, thereby denying Nigerians employment opportunities in the industry.

“It is criminal to engage in commercial charter services without a valid Air Operators Certificate.”

Meanwhile, the NCAA has said its newly introduced charges for non-scheduled commercial operators have replaced all previous charges such as the landing and parking fees, the en-route navigational charges and the passenger service charge.

In a memo, a copy of which was obtained by our correspondents, the regulatory agency said Nigerian-registered aircraft would pay only $3,000 (N480,000) per flight, while foreign-registered aircraft would pay $4,000 (N640,000) per flight.

The agency, in the memo, also said that private jet owners were exempted from paying the charges.

According to the memo, the charges are based on the tariffs that are being charged by scheduled commercial operators for their services.

“This segment of the air transport industry is one of the key focal areas of the Federal Ministry of Aviation in its ongoing industry transformation efforts and major investments have been and are still being made to provide appropriate infrastructural facilities for their services,” it stated.

The Co-ordinating General Manager, Corporate Communications, Aviation Parastatals, Mr. Yakubu Dati, however, said the charges were not meant for everybody operating private jets, but for those operating on commercial basis, including foreign-registered and locally registered aircraft.
Culled from Punch

‘Nigeria Fastest Air Travel Market in Africa’

Passengers at the airport

Nigeria has been identified by travel and hospitality experts as the fastest growing air travel market in Africa recording 1.5 million visitors last year.

Experts  told THISDAY  that studies   done on the industry have  indicated that Nigeria’s hospitality industry has overtaken that of South Africa, Mauritius and China.

According to them, while growth in the hospitality and travel industry in Nigeria is phenomenon, the market  in the other countries have been saturated.

And travel expert, Ikechi Uko attributed the growth in Nigeria to the emerging middle class, in spite of the seemingly economic stagnation.

“The middle class is growing at incredible rate and that explains why the economy cabin of many airlines operating into Nigeria record load factor. Those who will tell you that the economy is not growing are those who board business class. They don’t know what is happening at the economy class.”Uko said.

He noted that many new international hotels are extending their operations to Nigeria, especially Lagos and the rates have not come down because of high patronage.

“Lagos is the fourth most visited city in Africa and Nigeria is an environment that rewards efforts and when people travel to new places they see new things and they do business. Nigeria is rated the biggest destination in West Africa,” he said.

Uko said one of the reasons Akwaaba travel market is growing is because more people are eager to come to Nigeria and the market provides face to face marketing, which makes business to be done faster.

“It is believed that it is Nollywood that has changed people’s impression about Nigeria. It inadvertently became a marketing took as the films paint real and idyllic picture of the country,” he said.
An aviation expert, Nick Fadugba has once described Nigeria as the fastest air transport market in Africa, saying that the country should reposition its airlines to benefit from this viable market.

“An important distinction between Nigeria and most other countries in Africa is that Nigerian air traffic is almost inelastic, the high demand will still be there regardless of most crises. In contrast, North African countries depend on foreign tourism for most of their air traffic. In that environment, once there is a political crisis the foreign tourists flee, the aircraft are empty, revenues are down, airline staff laid off and aircraft are parked, it is a catastrophe. Fortunately, Nigerian air traffic is very resilient. Not many foreign tourists come to Nigeria and air traffic is driven primarily by business and Nigerian travellers. Hopefully, more foreign tourists will visit Nigeria in the future but at the moment, if there is crisis in Nigeria, people still tend to fly there for business,” Fadugba said.

culled from Thisday

Arik Leads Independence Day Golf Party

Arik Air

International airline operator, Arik is at the head of sponsors that will participate in the annual Independence Day Golf Tournament at IBB International Golf and Country Club, Abuja. A strong field of 250 golfers will feature in the final stage of the tournament on October 1.

Arik’s Corporate Strategy Associate Dr Nnamdi Bolu announced at a media briefing yesterday, that the main overall prize of a free business class flight ticket on a chosen international route, will be presented to the winner. Other category winners will be rewarded with a free business class flight ticket on the regional and local routes.

Bolu described the sponsorship initiative as a window by the company to use golf to service its highly valued customers who play the ancient game.

The highpoint of the Independence Day tournament is an international matchplay between Achimota Golf Club of Ghana and IBB Club of Abuja.

The Ghanaians, who lost on their visit to Nigeria last year, will arrive Abuja today with a delegation of 35 players and will be treated to a cocktail after a practice round at IBB course. The friendly matches which begin on Saturday will end on Sunday.

The Vice Captain of IBB International Golf and Country Club and the Chairman of the tournament organizing committee, Hon Tam Brisibe, told reporters that the essence of the tournament was to celebrate Nigeria’s unity.

The Independence Day week activities started this week with the tournaments for the IBB course workers early in the week in addition to the one for the resident professionals on Wednesday.
The activities,  which also feature tennis, will climax on October 1 with the main Independence Day tournament. It will follow the stableford playing format with the field adopting the shortgun format to quicken the pace of play.

Culled from Thisday