SARS-CoV-2 and EndSARS are still wreaking havoc to a contracted Nigerian economy. Elsewhere, we see bad roads claimed more lives than COVID from July to September. And for Lagos, Sanwo Olu promises to rekindle hope for 2021.
Two aviation fuel companies mirror the impact of COVID-19 on the aviation industry. Total Nigeria Plc and MRS Oil Nigeria Plc, combined with recorded ₦14.9bn landing in their aviation fuel revenue. The nine months review compared with the same period in 2019 was a nosedive from ₦25.6bn to ₦10.7bn from ₦25.6bn.
Other than SARS-CoV-2, EndSARS seems to wreak havoc. In an earlier analysis, Dataphyte established similarities between both phenomena. Today, we see how the latter cost the private sector an estimated ₦5 trillion. Worse, though, the affected businesses were still finding their footing following the impact of the pandemic, the Nigerian Employers’ Consultative Association noted.
From the novel coronavirus to EndSARS, 2020 was not short on challenges. Elsewhere, we see in the last three months, road accidents claimed casualties in figures that would make COVID jealous. Responsible for 1076 fatalities, it rivalled last quarter’s COVID figures of 1119. Interestingly, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) recorded all 2,656 road crashes and 1,076 deaths for the months of July to September. Assistant Corps Marshal, (ACM) Bisi Kazeem, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.
Looking for a novel way to combat insurgency? Try praying, although it may cost a pretty penny; ₦2.2 billion, to be exact. Jokes aside, the ongoing litigation against Sambo Dasuki in the alleged two billion dollars arms deal fraud brought interesting revelations. On Tuesday, EFCC investigating officer, Adariko Michael alleged that ₦2.2 billion was spent on prayers in Nigeria and Saudi Arabia to win the war against Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. He revealed this in his capacity as first protection witness (PW1) during the trial of the former National Security Adviser (ONSA) to President Goodluck Jonathan.
In other news, 2021 spells rekindled hope for Lagos state. On Tuesday, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu presented his budget proposal dubbed ‘Budget of Rekindled Hope’ worth ₦1.155 trillion to the State House of Assembly. Featuring a capital expenditure of ₦703,272 billion and a recurrent expenditure of ₦451,750 billion, the bill projects a revenue of ₦962.528 billion. Of the sum, Lagos plans to generate ₦795,744 billion.