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Nigeria’s aviation unions have come down heavily on the minister of aviation, Senatir Hadi Sirika over what they described as a plethora of missteps he has taken as they affect the sector.
Speaking on behalf of the unions, the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), the Secretary General of NUATE, Comrade Aba Ocheme accused the minister of rushing to deliver too many critical projects in contrast to the short time remaining for the present government.
While citing such projects which the unions believed can not be executed within the remaining period for the administration to elapse to include: establishment of a national carrier, Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul, aircraft leasing company, agro-allied airports, aerotropolis, and concessioning of the four major international airports in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt, the unions declared: “For inexplicable reasons none of the above projects has been delivered up till now. It is therefore not surprising that the Minister is presently in a frenzy in an effort to deliver these projects, being that this administration is at its twilight.
“This rush to deliver at all cost has expectedly occasioned suspicion and a plethora of missteps which if not corrected will spell doom for the aviation industry in Nigeria, and which may proof exceedingly costly to amend in future.”
While expressing their disgust with the minister over his style of running the affairs of the sector, the unions however took time off to acknowledge some good feats achieved by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, the unions remarked:
“So we place on record our recognition of the large footprints of the Muhammadu Buhari Administration on the aviation industry in Nigeria. The progress registered through the efforts of the Minister of aviation, Hadi Sirika, and the Chief Executives of the agencies in the past seven years, are indeed indelible.
“Though not visible to the larger public, huge modernization programs and projects have been achieved in the Nigeria Metrological Agency (NiMet), Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Nigerian Air Space Management Agency (NAMA), Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). These achievements have not only significantly improved flying experience in the Nigerian air space, but have had big impact on human capacity development and safety. Dispassionate industry insiders cannot but praise these efforts that are clearly beyond what the industry has witnessed before now.”
While describing the projects as vital for the good health of the industry, the unions however argued that the present administration did not own the credit for conceptualizing these projects, hence; the “Aviation Road Map has been a recurrent theme in the Aviation Ministry for as long as one can call to mind which underscores the relevance of these projects to the improvement of the Nigerian aviation industry. ‘Truth be told, the fact that these projects remain undelivered to this day is an attestation to the tardiness of successive federal regimes over the years.
This means that our unions will join other Nigerians to celebrate the delivery of the Road Map. But, we have course to seriously worry about the manner of delivery. More crucially, we are concerned about whether what is being delivered is actually what Nigerians crave. That is the crux of the matter. We wish not to be misunderstood, however. However, our hearts are now greatly troubled to be witnesses to the ongoing bastardization of the lofty objectives of the Aviation Road Map.
“Ordinarily, the attainment of the flagship projects ought to act as consummation of the benefits of the substantial investments made by Government in facilities upgrade in the agencies. But, activities around the implementation of the road map tend to suggest that a ploy is afoot to deny Nigeria of the benefits of its labour and natural endowments, or to divert such to private ends.”
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