President Olusegun Obasanjo grounded two private domestic Nigerian airlines after two deadly plane crashes killed 224 people in seven weeks.
He also announced a review of all aircraft flying in Nigeria. Blaming corruption for some of the industry's troubles, he said two experts from the International Civil Aviation Organization would be brought in "to ensure the integrity of the inspection."
Obasanjo announced the groundings on Tuesday after meeting with airline carriers and government regulators to discuss public concern at aviation accidents.
PHOTO: AP
During the meeting, which was broadcast live on state television, Obasanjo read what appeared to be a February intelligence report detailing safety problems at the two grounded airlines, including planes experiencing landing gear trouble. It was not clear why those concerns had not been acted upon earlier.
Attempts to reach officials at the grounded airlines were not immediately successful on Tuesday.
One of the carriers grounded, Sosoliso Airlines, operated the 32-year-old McDonnell Douglas DC-9 that crashed on Saturday in the southern city of Port Harcourt, killing 107 people, most of them schoolchildren heading home for the holidays. The plane's previous owner, Serbia's JAT Airways, said it did not meet European standards.
The second grounded airline, Chanchangi Airlines, operated a plane that skidded off the runway in the main city of Lagos earlier this year and another craft that developed problems shortly after taking off from Abuja earlier this month and had to return to the capital.
On Oct. 22, a passenger jet crashed shortly after taking off from the main city of Lagos, killing all 117 people on board. There has been little indication of what could have caused the crash. That plane's carrier, privately owned Bellview Airlines, was not grounded.
"People are asking when will this stop? How will this stop? We have to answer these questions," Obasanjo said as Tuesday's meeting began, speaking to representatives of local and international airlines and government and emergency officials in the capital, Abuja.
Obasanjo on Monday ousted two senior officials in Nigeria's aviation ministry.
Aviation Minister Babalola Borishade told meeting participants on Tuesday that flight facilities in the country have long been in decay.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese