National News
ECOWAS Member States Asked to Eliminate Taxes on Air Travel to Develop Aviation Industry

ECOWAS Member States Asked to Eliminate Taxes on Air Travel to Develop Aviation Industry
By: Michael Mike
Member states of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have been asked to adopt a new regional strategy of elimination of all taxes on air travel in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards.
The advice was given by a committee of aviation experts at the Sixth Legislature Delocalised Meeting of the Joint Committee on Infrastructure, Energy and Mines, Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources of ECOWAS Parliament held in Lomé, Togo.
It also proposes a 25% reduction in airport passenger service and security charges, effective from January 1, 2026, following consultations with airport and civil aviation authorities.
The committee emphasized that savings from these measures must be reflected in ticket pricing structures, urging airlines to pass on the benefits to consumers. Airports, meanwhile, are encouraged to adopt business-friendly practices to improve efficiency, cut costs, and grow non-aeronautical revenue streams.
An oversight committee is expected to be established by June 2025 to monitor implementation, while the full proposal awaits formal endorsement by the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in the coming months.
According to the report submitted for review by the consultant, the regional organs must ensure that airports embrace business practices that will enable them to cover the 25% reduction.
Director for Transport at the ECOWAS Commission, Chris Appiah, while speaking with journalists, highlighted the transformative potential of the policy. He noted that canceling certain taxes and reducing charges by 25% could stimulate air travel demand in the sub-region by up to 40%.
He said: “We’ve conducted comprehensive studies and found that ECOWAS airports charge significantly more than their counterparts elsewhere in Africa—up to 103% more in passenger service charges and 53% more in security charges.”
He explained that the policy aims to remove taxes that are non-compliant with ICAO standards, such as security and tourism levies, and ensure transparent pricing structures. “You don’t tax air transport to promote tourism—it defeats the purpose,” he added.
The origins of the policy date back to a 2014 summit of ECOWAS Heads of State in Abuja, where leaders recognized the economic implications of exorbitant airfares and tasked the Commission with developing a solution. Working with global and regional partners, including IATA, AFRAA, AFCAC, and the African Union. ECOWAS crafted a harmonized strategy to align with international best practices.
Appiah revealed that simulations show air traffic in the region could surge by over 40% within a year of implementing the proposed changes, potentially generating over $500 million in additional revenue. “Reducing charges will not reduce revenue; rather, it will increase it by stimulating demand,” he said.
He pointed out that the top-performing airports and airlines in Africa—mostly from North, East, and Southern Africa—operate under zero-tax regimes on air transport services. In contrast, ECOWAS airports lag behind, with only Lagos and Accra featuring in the top 10 busiest intra-African routes.
Implementation, however, rests with individual member states. “ECOWAS will lead coordination, but each government must engage its finance ministries and parliaments to remove the identified taxes and reduce charges,” Appiah emphasized.
The strategy also includes a push for better collaboration among airlines through code-sharing and joint ventures. This would allow passengers to travel across the region using multiple carriers under a single ticket, reducing operational costs and boosting efficiency.
“For instance, Air Peace could partner with ASKY or Air Côte d’Ivoire to serve regional routes more cost-effectively,” said Appiah. “This is standard practice in global aviation and can help reduce fares significantly.”
He further stressed the importance of private sector leadership in the air transport industry. “Government-run airlines often suffer from inefficiency and bureaucracy. The best results come when the public sector creates an enabling environment, and the private sector handles operations.”
Citing successful models like Ethiopian Airlines, Appiah said even state-owned carriers must operate independently of government bureaucracy to thrive. “What we need is a performance-driven approach, whether through national, regional, or continental airlines,” he concluded.
With all member states signed onto the ICAO conventions, ECOWAS believes the time is ripe to align regional air transport policies with global best practices, unlocking the full potential of West African skies for business, tourism, and integration.
ECOWAS Member States Asked to Eliminate Taxes on Air Travel to Develop Aviation Industry
National News
Eid-el-Kabir: IPCR Calls on Nigerians to Peace, Harmony

Eid-el-Kabir: IPCR Calls on Nigerians to Peace, Harmony
By: Michael Mike
Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) has called on Nigerians to promote peace and harmony in their communities, recognizing that peace is essential to national development and progress.
The advice was given by the Director General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Dr. Joseph Ochogwu, in his message on Eid-el-Kabir.
The Institute, while extending warm greetings to Nigerians, wished them a joyous and peaceful celebration, marked by love, compassion, and unity.
The Institute while noting that Sallah is a significant occasion in the Islamic calendar, symbolizing the values of sacrifice, gratitude, and community, emphasized that the spirit of Sallah should guide Nigerians in their interactions with one another, fostering a culture of peace, tolerance, and understanding.
The IPCR urged Nigerians to promote peace and harmony in their communities, recognizing that peace is essential to national development and progress, while
encouraging individuals to embrace the values of Sallah, including forgiveness, empathy, and kindness, in their daily lives.
According to IPCR, peace is critical to promoting national stability and cohesion.
The Institute also urged Nigerians to use this period of Sallah celebration to address conflicts and promote dialogue, which could help to build trust and understanding among Nigerians and also contribute to a more peaceful society.
It recognized that the country’s many ethnic and religious groups can work together to build a more harmonious society, celebrating their differences and promoting a culture of tolerance.
End
National News
Community Leader Seeks Tinubu’s Urgent Intervention in Incessant Plateau Killing

Community Leader Seeks Tinubu’s Urgent Intervention in Incessant Plateau Killing
By: Michael Mike
A community leader and the Waziri Mushere of Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State, Chief Yohana Margif has expressed dismay over the incessant killing of innocent citizens of the community.
Margif made this known in an interview with journalists on Thursday in Abuja.
He called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently intervene to halt what he described as genocide against the people, which he said was being perpetrated by suspected herdsmen.
Margif also called on Malam Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser, and other security chiefs in the country, to rein in the alleged culprits.
He said: “I would like to draw the attention of the topmost leadership in Nigeria to the deteriorating dire security situation in Plateau, particularly in Mushere Chiefdom of Bokkos LGA.
“I urge President Tinubu to take immediate decisive action to halt these endless and senseless killings, protect lives and properties, and secure the future of the Mushere people, and other victims of obvious genocide against the people.
“Herdsmen are killing our innocent people, burning their homes, looting their foodstuff, property, livestock, and taking over their ancestral lands,” he said.
According to the Abuja-based real estate mogul, the attacks and attendant killings have intensified recently since the onset of this year’s farming season.
Margif further said that the people had been displaced from their villages and ancestral homes and were forced to become internally displaced persons in the country.
He emphasised that the situation required immediate intervention by all stakeholders in order to prevent further escalation and inflict an irredeemable harm by wiping out the entire community from the surface of the earth.
He lamented that: “Since President Tinubu’s administration began, Plateau State has witnessed an unprecedented escalation of violence and loss of lives.
“This is the current sad reality. Our people are constantly under the threat of the enemy’s bullets and can’t sleep with two eyes closed due to the perpetual unleashing of violence against them by external forces.
“Something urgent must be done to stem the tide of violence and end this war against the people in order not to
harm this administration’s reputation,” Margif said.
In the past couple of days, suspected herdsmen militia killed no fewer than 35 people in the localities of Hokk, Pangkap, Fokoldep, Kopmur, Margif, Horop, Mbor, Mushere and Kwahas localities in Mushere Chiefdom.
Chairman, Bokkos Community Peace Observers, Kefas Mallai, who confirmed the killings to newsmen, said the victims included a 70-year-old Pastor of COCIN LCC Kwakas-Mushere, Mimang Lekyil, who was attacked and killed in the church.
He said that the pastor’s wife was also shot in the leg and was admitted at the Jos University Teaching Hospital for treatment, he said.
“Bokkos has never been this insecure, with the people being butchered as we are currently witnessing,” Lilian Madaki, from the Mushere community told journalists.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Emmanuel Adesina, also confirmed the incident in a statement saying security forces including police and military personnel, had been deployed in the affected communities.
Community Leader Seeks Tinubu’s Urgent Intervention in Incessant Plateau Killing
National News
VP Shettima Leads Mourners At Funeral Prayers For Late Prof. Jibril Aminu

VP Shettima Leads Mourners At Funeral Prayers For Late Prof. Jibril Aminu
** Says Nigeria has lost an intellectual giant
By: Our Reporter
Vice President Kashim Shettima today led other Muslim faithful for the Jana’iza (funeral prayers) of the late elder statesman, renowned medical scholar and former Minister of Education and Petroleum, Prof. Jibril Aminu, at the National Mosque in Abuja.

Prof. Aminu, a one-time President of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (OPEC), passed on in Abuja on Thursday after a prolonged illness.
The Vice President, who arrived at the National Mosque at 1:52 pm, commiserated with the family of the deceased and prayed Allah to comfort them and make Aljanna Firdaus the final abode of the late elder statesman.

Noting that the late Prof Aminu’s demise is a great loss to the nation, VP Shettima described the late surgeon, educationist and administrator as a man who saw it all, just as he said the deceased was an intellectual giant who can hardly be replaced.
“It is a very sad loss. Prof Jubril Aminu was the last of the great titans, an iconic figure who enormously contributed to the development of the nation.
“He was variously the Executive Secretary of NUC, Vice Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri and Honourable Minister of various ministries across the country and left his landmarks on the sands of time.
“He is irreplaceable. May Allah grant him Aljanatul Firdaus and give the family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss. His loss is not just to the good people of Adamawa State but to the nation and Africa at large,” the Vice President prayed.

Born in Song, Adamawa in 1939, Prof. Aminu was a towering figure in Nigerian public life.
The late Consultant Cardiologist served the nation in different capacities, including as Federal Minister of Education and later Federal Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (1989–1992), Ambassador of Nigeria to the United States (1999–2003), and Senator representing Adamawa Central (2003–2011).
He was also President of OPEC in 1991 and President of the OPEC Conference between 1991 and 1992 while he was Petroleum Minister.
Other mourners who joined the Vice President at the National Mosque in Abuja for the Jana’iza included former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Special Adviser to the President on General Duties (Office of the Vice President), Dr. Aliyu Modibbo; former Secretary to the Federal Government, Yayale Ahmed; former Governor of Adamawa State, Admiral Murtala Nyako; former Governor of Gombe State, Senator Danjuma Goje; former Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai (rtd); former Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman; former Minister of State for Health, Dr. Aliyu Idi Hong, among many others.
VP Shettima Leads Mourners At Funeral Prayers For Late Prof. Jibril Aminu
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