General News
Guinea-Bissau Taps United Nigeria Airlines to Establish AIR BISSAU, National Carrier
Government of Guinea-Bissau has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nigeria’s United Nigeria Airlines to establish AIR BISSAU, a national carrier, for the West African country, to boost its aviation industry and reduce its dependence on foreign airlines.
The agreement, signed in Bissau, the capital of Guinea-Bissau, was disclosed in a statement made available by the airline on Sunday.
The MoU was signed by Dr Florentino Pereira, minister of Transport, Telecommunications and Digital Economy, Guinea-Bissau and Prof Obiora Okonkwo, executive chairman of United Nigeria Airlines.
Recall that Nigeria currently has no national carrier despite repeated calls by industry stakeholders for its establishment to facilitate reciprocal flight rights to foreign destinations, particularly the United States.
Attempts to establish a national carrier through a partnership with Ethiopian Airlines also hit a brick wall following lawsuits by the Airline Operators of Nigeria, an association for which Okonkwo once served as spokesperson.
Other factors that contributed to the failure of the national carrier project included deep-seated political issues, allegations of fraud and a controversial ownership structure.
In the latest agreement between the Nigerian airline and Guinea-Bissau, which was made available to our correspondent, both parties will “explore a comprehensive cooperation framework aimed at establishing a fully operational national airline with Osvaldo Vieira International Airport in Bissau serving as the operational base and hub for the carrier’s initial routes.”
For decades, Guinea-Bissau has relied largely on regional carriers and charter services to connect its citizens and businesses to other countries.
A key component of the MoU is the creation of a joint venture company that will operate as Guinea-Bissau’s national airline.
Under the arrangement, United Nigeria Airlines will provide the majority of the financial investment, operational expertise, aircraft and management for the new carrier.
Extending beyond commercial operations, the Nigerian carrier is expected to “provide and operate an executive jet for the use of the President and Government of Guinea-Bissau.”
To facilitate the project, the government pledged to “facilitate the registration and licensing of the new national carrier in line with domestic laws and streamline authorisation processes through both the Civil Aviation Authority of Guinea-Bissau and the Civil Aviation Authority of Nigeria.”
Guinea-Bissau also agreed to designate AIR BISSAU as its official national carrier, granting it “full rights over all existing Bilateral Air Services Agreement entitlements.”
According to the MoU, the designation would give the airline “significant leverage in securing route rights and authorisations to regional and international destinations,” described as an important commercial and diplomatic asset.
The government further committed to ensuring that Osvaldo Vieira International Airport receives the infrastructure support required for the airline’s operations, including access provisions, ground support services and assistance with customs, immigration and security compliance.
Additionally, Guinea-Bissau pledged to invest in the establishment of the airline and create mechanisms that would protect and incentivise investment through the existing Investment Code and applicable tax frameworks.
As part of efforts to develop local aviation expertise, United Nigeria Airlines plans to train “qualified Guinean nationals including pilots, cabin crew, and technical maintenance personnel” and employ local staff wherever feasible in line with government employment policies.
The MoU makes it clear that operational control of the airline will remain with the Nigerian carrier.
“For the purposes of safety, reliability, and efficiency, the overall management, operational control, and general direction of the new airline will rest with the management team of United Nigeria Airlines,” the statement noted.
Both parties also agreed to provide full liability and hull insurance coverage for all flight operations, conduct annual independent safety and maintenance audits, and establish asset protection mechanisms for investors.
The agreement takes immediate effect and will remain valid for 18 months or until a substantive joint venture agreement is concluded.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery is reportedly nearing completion of a $2.5 billion private placement that values the company at about $40 billion ahead of its planned public listing.
Private placement is the direct sale of company shares or bonds to pre-selected investors instead of the general public and it is used to raise money quickly while avoiding strict public reporting rules.
People familiar with the transaction said investors acquired as much as 6 per cent of the refinery, according to a BusinessDay report.
The reported terms would value the business at approximately $40 billion.
Neither Dangote Group nor the refinery has publicly announced the final amount raised, the identities of most subscribers or the precise percentage sold.
The figures should therefore be treated as transaction details supplied by unnamed sources rather than confirmed company disclosures.
The reported $2.5 billion total is nevertheless significant as it indicates strong demand for exposure to a privately controlled refinery that has rapidly become central to Nigeria’s fuel supply and an increasingly important exporter of petroleum products.
The placement was said to have attracted more demand than the available shares, allowing the company to secure substantially more than the amount initially associated with the fundraising exercise.
Femi Otedola, chairman, First HoldCo, is the only major participant publicly identified in the report.
He reportedly committed $100 million to the transaction and sold his investment in Geregu Power Plc to finance the acquisition.
Nigeria’s pension industry was also reportedly cleared to participate.
Access to more than $17 billion in retirement assets would broaden the refinery’s potential investor base beyond wealthy individuals and conventional institutional buyers.
Participation by Pension Fund Administrators would, however, require careful attention to valuation, liquidity and portfolio-concentration limits.
Retirement funds must balance the attraction of a large Nigerian industrial asset against their responsibility to protect contributors’ savings.
The implied $40 billion valuation represents investor expectations about the refinery’s future earnings rather than only the physical cost of constructing the facility.
Its ability to process 650,000 barrels of crude daily gives it a central role in supplying Nigeria and other markets, but its commercial performance remains connected to crude availability, product prices, exchange rates and regulation.
The refinery has struggled to obtain all the Nigerian crude it requires under the government’s naira-for-crude arrangement.
It has consequently purchased some feedstock internationally and recently moved local petroleum-product pricing into dollars to align sales revenue more closely with its foreign-currency expenses.
Those constraints will be important during any public offering.
Prospective shareholders will want greater clarity on crude-supply contracts, debt, operating margins, export revenue and the company’s relationship with Nigerian regulators.
It is also unclear whether the private placement involved newly issued shares, a sale by existing owners or a combination of both.
That distinction determines whether the reported $2.5 billion becomes fresh capital for the refinery or proceeds received by selling shareholders.
The transaction could provide a useful price reference for the planned initial public offering.
Federal government will next month launch Nigeria’s first national organized crime strategy to strengthen the country’s response to terrorism, cybercrime, human and drug trafficking, kidnapping, illicit financial flows, and other forms of organized crime.
Major General Adamu Laka, national coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre under the Office of the National Security Adviser, disclosed this in Abuja during the validation of the strategy document.
He said the strategy provides a coordinated national framework for tackling organized crime through improved intelligence sharing, stronger collaboration among security agencies, and closer cooperation with the criminal justice system, civil society organizations, and international partners.
Major General Laka explained that the document was developed through a partnership involving the Federal Government, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United States Government, and other stakeholders.
Speaking at the event, Cheikh Toure, UNODC representative, said the strategy would strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to combat transnational crimes, including drug trafficking, cybercrime, human trafficking, kidnapping, and illicit financial flows.
Also speaking, Douglas Grane, acting director of the United States Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, reaffirmed the U.S. government’s support for Nigeria’s efforts to tackle organized crime through stronger inter-agency and international cooperation.
Representatives of the National Institute for Strategic Studies, the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit, and the National Cyber Security Centre also endorsed the initiative, describing it as a major step towards improving Nigeria’s fight against organized crime.
FATE Foundation, with funding from the Citi Foundation, has launched the Youth Entrepreneurship Incubation Programme to equip young people in Nigeria with financial literacy and entrepreneurship skills.
Delivered through free, safe, and accessible platforms, the programme supports the incubation and scaling of youth-led enterprises, enabling income generation and job creation.
In October 2025, FATE Foundation was selected as a recipient of Citi Foundation’s 2025 Global Innovation Challenge to Accelerate Youth Employability. Joining the cohort of 50 organisations globally, the Foundation will receive $500,000 over two years to advance its youth employability initiative.
“We are excited to be selected for Citi Foundation’s 2025 Global Innovation Challenge,” said Ayomide Akindolie-Igwe, Executive Director of FATE Foundation.
“This support enables us to equip young entrepreneurs in Nigeria with the financial literacy and skills needed to build and scale sustainable businesses.”
The programme addresses youth employability by tackling Africa’s growing jobs crisis. By 2030, the African continent will be home to 40% of the world’s youth, and with one in three under 35 already unemployed, this initiative will support Nigerian youth with a two-phase approach. It begins with financial literacy training before progressing to entrepreneurship development, incubation support, and access to tools needed to build viable, job-creating businesses.
“Through this innovative initiative, FATE Foundation is supporting low-income Nigerian youth to develop essential financial and entrepreneurial skills using accessible platforms.
“This support is not just helping individuals to succeed; it is building a solid foundation for sustainable enterprises that will drive job creation and contribute significantly to our nation’s economic vitality. This initiative is empowering and investing in the future of Nigeria, one youth at a time,” said Nneka Enwereji, MD/CEO Citibank Nigeria Limited.
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