Mess around and find out
A 2016 legal dispute has led to the seizure of Nigeria’s new aircraft
Happy Friday, Big Brains. What’s this weekend going to look like for you? For me, it’s mostly going to be lots of sleeping and lots of cooking. Enjoy the last edition of the week!
- Margaret
Word count: ~1,000
Reading time ~3 mins
Let’s get into today’s edition:
French court seizes Nigeria’s new presidential jet and other aircraft in legal battle
EIU says Dangote refinery launch delays could hurt Nigeria’s economy
Nigerian governor’s WhatsApp hacked by scammers
The Big Deal
French court seizes Nigeria’s new presidential jet and other aircraft in legal battle
Life lesson 101 - pay what you owe when it’s due so you won’t find yourself in a legal fight that would cost you millions of dollars in the future.
-Words by The Big Daily, inspired by the government’s latest mess.
Sometime in June, we reported that there was a high chance that FG would spend between $2 million to $100 million on new presidential private jets. An Airbus 330, which is valued at close to $200 million, was eventually purchased to serve the president but it's yet to be delivered and from the look of things, it won't be getting delivered anytime soon.
Three Nigerian government planes have reportedly been taken by a French court because of a legal fight with a Chinese company. The planes— a Dassault Falcon 7X, and a Boeing 737 were part of Nigeria’s presidential fleet while the Airbus A330 was newly bought.
The legal fight started when the Ogun State government cancelled a contract with the Chinese company, Zhongshan Fucheng, in 2016. An international court later ruled that Nigeria owed Zhongshan over €74 million, but Nigeria didn’t pay. So Zhongshan did what any lender in their right senses would do, they got permission from the French court to seize Nigeria’s planes.
The Dassault Falcon 7X was being repaired in Paris while the Boeing 737 and Airbus A330 were in Basel, Switzerland, when they were seized. Now, these planes are stuck and can't be used until Nigeria pays the money it owes.
Why is this a big deal?
There are problems we shouldn’t be dealing with in Big 2024, this is one of them. Unfortunately, this is a very expensive problem. It’s even worse that this isn’t the first seizure of assets that has taken place over the same unresolved debt. A UK court reportedly permitted Zhongshan to seize Nigerian government-owned buildings in Liverpool before they got permission from France to seize the planes.
Now, this raises concerns about the potential for further asset seizures which could reflect badly on the country's financial stability and international standing.
EIU says Dangote refinery launch delays could hurt Nigeria’s economy
You know how everybody says “What’s our business” whenever Aliko Dangote comes out to talk about the mess he’s been facing since he set out to launch the Dangote refinery? According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), it has now become our business.
The unit, which is the research and analysis division of the Economist Group, said Nigeria will be in serious trouble financially if it keeps delaying Dangote Refinery’s petrol production.
The report says that continuing to import fuel could make Nigeria lose some of its foreign money reserves and might lead to a more complicated currency exchange system. The refinery, which could solve many of Nigeria's fuel problems, has faced delays and might not be fully functional until 2026.
The refinery was supposed to start petrol production in June, but that still hasn’t happened. Nigeria's oil production and some other messy factors are to be blamed for the delay. The country’s oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has promised to supply the refinery with oil, but they haven't been able to provide enough.
Dangote refinery has even had to buy oil from other countries, which is not sustainable since the government insists that fuel should be sold locally in naira. There's also a dispute over the refinery's actual progress, with some officials saying it's only 45% complete.
An oil-rich country, Nigeria is still far from becoming self-sufficient in fuel production and this is going to have some negative effects on the country’s economy, currency, and international trade.
Nigerian governor’s WhatsApp hacked by scammers
There must be some sort of data that proves that baby boomers will never win the war against technology. Akwa Ibom governor, Umo Eno, is the latest baby boomer to fall victim to Whatsapp hackers.
These hackers did not only temporarily hack the governor’s private messaging account, they also asked some of his contacts for money with the promise of reimbursing them later. Almost every Nigerian knows someone who’s had their WhatsApp hacked. The “send me money, I’ll refund later” is probably the most used strategy by these hackers. We imagine that Governor Umo’s hackers aren’t CIA-level brilliant, they’re most likely regular guys who thought they were in for the biggest scam of their lives.
The governor's press secretary, Ekerete Udoh, has warned the public to ignore those messages.
Another governor, Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, was also a victim of these hackers last month.
If you haven’t already, this is your sign to add an extra layer of security, like two-factor authentication, email authorization and App Lock, to your WhatsApp account.
This Week’s Big Question
“If could get a nepo-advantage to become an Olympian, what sport would you play?”
Ngozi’s response -“I’d pick javelin. Just imagine telling people I’m a pro spear-thrower thanks to my uncle’s secret training! And since we’ve all dodged enough danfo buses, I’m pretty sure I can handle throwing things without hitting anyone—hopefully!”
You can also share your response here and if it’s as interesting as Ngozi’s response, we’ll feature it in the next edition.
The Big Picks
Serving Senators Earn ₦21m Monthly, I Got ₦13m During My Time, Shehu Sani Insists: Amid debates about federal lawmakers' salaries, Senator Shehu Sani reveals he earned ₦13 million per month in the 8th Senate, while current 10th Senate members now receive ₦21 million monthly.
Russia Jails US-Russian Woman For 12 Years For ‘Treason’: Ksenia Karelina, a US-Russian citizen, was sentenced to 12 years in prison by a Russian court on Thursday for "treason." She had reportedly donated just over $50 to a charity supporting Ukraine.
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