Air Peace would soon recall some of the pilots that were sacked recently. This coming after the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika had intervened.

This was disclosed by the Ministry of Aviation via its Twitter handle on Tuesday.

The recall was the fall-out of an intervention meeting called by the Minister between the airline management and the leadership of the National Association of Airline Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) held in his office on Tuesday.

Back story: Nairametrics reported as Nigerians woke up to the news that Air Peace had sacked about 70 pilots under its employment across its fleet and also reduced staff salaries by 40%. The airline said the exercise was due to the devastating impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on its business.

It added that the move was made to protect the majority of the existing jobs and the possibility of creating new ones in the future, as well as ensuring the survival of the airline.

In the verbal agreement, Chairman, Air Peace, Chief Allen Onyema acceded to the Minister’s appeal for the recall of the maximum number of pilots that the airline can accommodate without going under.

Chairman, NAAPE, Galadima Abednego explained that as a union it was a painful thing to see a large number of their members thrown into the labour market, and further appealed to employers of labour to see the union members as partners, and not adversaries.

On his own, Onyema expressed his sadness and disappointment over what he called the ingratitude of some of the airline’s pilots after everything is done to make them comfortable on their jobs.

He recalled how Air Peace had trained over 80 pilots and an equal number of aircraft engineers, giving its staff the best remuneration package within the sector only for them to disappoint at a time their understanding was needed.

He however commended Senator Hadi Sirika for providing the required leadership to the industry and promised his full cooperation in ensuring the growth of the aviation sector in Nigeria.

The Aviation Minister called for the understanding of everyone, especially the Labour unions, of the prevailing situation in the aviation industry, saying it was not the time for unnecessary upheavals.

AIR PEACE TO RECALL SOME SACKED PILOTS, AS SIRIKA INTERVENES

Respite has come the way of some of the pilots recently sacked by the management of Air Peace, as many of them would soon be recalled to their jobs.

— Federal Ministry of Aviation, Nigeria (@fmaviationng) August 11, 2020

He commended Chief Onyema for his enormous contributions in developing the industry, but appealed to him to recall the maximum number of the sacked pilots that the airline can comfortably accommodate in the prevailing circumstances to which airline operator agreed.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange on Tuesday closed bearish. The All Share Index dropped by 0.58% to close at 24,883.70 basis points as against -0.06% drop recorded on Monday.

Its Year-to-Date (YTD) returns currently stands at -7.30%. Nigerian bourse’s market capitalization presently stands at N12,981 trillion. Investors’ losses recorded today stood at N75.07 billion.

Trading volume turnover closed positive as volume moved up by +17.84% as against +4.90% uptick recorded in the previous session. ACCESS, FIDELITYBK, and GUARANTY were the most active to boost market turnover.

Market breadth closed negative as CADBURY led 16 Gainers as against 17 Losers topped by PRESTIGE.

Top gainers

• CADBURY up 6.82% to close at N7.05
• NB up 6.25% to close at N34
• ARDOVA up 4.94% to close at N12.75
• VALUEFUND up 1.37% to close at N115.05
• GUARANTY up 1.02% to close at N24.8

Top losers

• IKEJAHOTEL down 9.82% to close at N1.01
• MANSARD down 8.23% to close at N1.45
• DANGCEM down 4.09% to close at N136
• GUINNESS down 3.33% to close at N14.5
• UCAP down 3.09% to close at N3.14

Outlook

Nigerian bourse recorded its second trading loss for the week, triggered by high selling pressures notable in DANGCEM and GUINNESS.

Nairametrics, however, recommend you seek the counsel of a certified financial advisor when buying stocks.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said that any form of approval of prequalification of the Russian vaccine will require rigorous review and assessment of all required safety and efficacy data.

This disclosure was made by the spokesman of the WHO, Tarik Jasarevic, during a United Nations briefing in Geneva about clinical trials.

He said that the UN health agency and the Russian health authorities are currently discussing the process for possible WHO prequalification for its newly approved COVID-19 vaccine.

Tarik Jasarevic, during the UN briefing in Geneva said, “We are in close contact with Russian health authorities and discussions are ongoing with respect to possible WHO prequalification of the vaccine, but again prequalification of any vaccine includes the rigorous review and assessment of all required safety and efficacy data.”

Meanwhile, in a related development, Russia has named its first approved COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V and it is available for foreign markets. The name references the world’s first satellite, which marked a symbolic accomplishment for the USSR during the cold war and space race era. Now, the Russian Government basks in its success at becoming the first country to approve a vaccine for COVID-19.

The head of Russia’s Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) pointed out that Russia had already received requests from more than 20 countries for 1 billion doses of its newly registered COVID-19 vaccine.

Nairametrics had earlier reported today the announcement of the registration of the first COVID-19 vaccine in what could be described as a step ahead of other vaccine developments. The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, who made the disclosure during a televised government meeting, said that Russia had become the first country in the world to grant regulatory approval to a COVID-19 vaccine after less than 2 months of human testing.

However, the speed at which Russia is moving to roll out the vaccine has prompted some western countries and international scientists to question whether the Russian government is putting national prestige ahead of solid science and safety.