• Keyamo threatens reciprocity over UK Heathrow Airport’s denial of a slot for Air Peace
• Oil marketers narrate why they halted importation of petrol
• Lagos State announces price slash for Blue Rail Line trips
• #EndBadGovernance Protest: Police begin trail of 1,135 detained protesters
• Libya overtakes Nigeria as the African country with the largest oil reserves

Across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, these are the five top Nigerian news stories you shouldn’t miss.

Keyamo threatens reciprocity over UK Heathrow Airport’s denial of a slot for Air Peace

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo has threatened to reciprocate the refusal of granting a slot to British Airways and Virgin Atlantic in Lagos and Abuja airports, just as London’s primary airport, Heathrow, has denied providing a slot for Air Peace.

Since Nigerian airline Air Peace began making trips to the UK, it has tried to obtain a slot at Heathrow Airport. Still, it has been denied several times and has had to operate at Gatwick Airport, the secondary airport.

In the letter to the UK Secretary of State for Transport, Keyamo expressed the displeasure of the Nigerian government over the consistent refusal to grant a slot to Air Peace.

“I wish to emphatically state that if Air Peace is not allocated a slot at the London Heathrow Airport, it might be difficult for British flag carriers to access Nigeria’s tier one airports from the next Winter Season unless when a frank discussion is opened with us to break the debacle associated with the slot allocation at Heathrow to the Airline and other Nigerian designated airlines,” the letter reads in part.

Oil marketers narrate why they halted the importation of petrol

Oil marketers have lamented about the rising cost of importation of crude oil in Nigeria due to the unstable foreign exchange market as they complain of selling their products at a loss.

Oil marketers revealed that petrol cannot be sold below ₦1,500 because of recent economic crisis, as the current supply level has left a large gap between the cost-effective price and the price offered to Nigerians, between ₦617 and ₦820 per litre.

The President of Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Dr Billy Harry, spoke on the matter of the fuel price, claiming that no country in the world is selling fuel at a price lower than $1.

Lagos State announces price slash for Blue Rail Line trips

The Lagos State government has announced a 25% discount for all Blue Rail Line trips for all Lagos commuters moving within the off-peak time frame between 10 am and 4 pm.

The Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) Blue Line also mentioned that it would increase its number of trips from 54 to 72 trips daily, starting from August 12.

The recent announcement is to incentivise Nigerians to use the Blue Rail Line more often as travellers would be able to cut travel time between Marina to Mile 2 in 18 minutes rather than the previous 25 minutes.

#EndBadGovernance Protest: Police begin trail of 1,135 detained protesters

With the 10-day #EndBadGovernance protest over in the country, the Nigerian police have started its trial of detained 1,135 protesters across the northern part of Nigeria.

Though the protest was peaceful primarily in the South, it was unfortunately violent in the North as it resulted in the death of several citizens and the arrest of many others who were believed to have malicious intent toward government properties.

Over five states in the north declared curfew due to the violence, killing, vandalism, and looting experienced within their jurisdiction during the #EndBadGovernance nationwide protest.

Libya overtakes Nigeria as the African country with the largest oil reserves

Nigeria has bowed to Libya, which has become the African country with the most oil reserves.

Although Nigeria has significantly increased its oil production in recent years (from 1.28 million to 1.7 million barrels per day), making it Africa’s largest oil producer, Libya has taken the crown for being the country with the most oil reserves with a record of 50bn bbl while Nigeria has 37bn bbl.