The Federal Government of Nigeria has in the last five years been working on a plan to concession the 22 airports in the country starting with the four major airports to ensure that they run efficiently and profitable ,with this development, Aviation workers under the coalition of the National Union of Air Tranport Employees(NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria(ATSSSAN) and Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals(ANAP) rejected the planned concession of the big four airports in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Portharcourt.
The workers rejected the plan and described the process as faulty and accused the Hon Minister of Aviation of a unilateral decision. The coalition at a meeting in Lagos ,faulted all the moves so far made on the project including the 1.7 billion naira approved by the Federal Executive Council as consultancy fee.
The General Secretary of NUATE, Comrade Ochemba Aba called on all concerned not to be decieved by the Certificate of Compliance(C of C) from the Infrastructural Concession Regulatory commission(ICRC) and also not to approve the alleged privately approved Outline of Business Case(OBC)
It should be recalled that recently, the ICRC issued a C of C to the minister of aviation ahead of the Federal Executive Council approval of the business case.
Comrade Abu stated that the project delivery team comprised of about five Federal Ministries including Aviation and Finance and other agencies including FAAN and ICRC as well as two Representatives of NUATE.
Speaking further Comrade Abu said“Unfortunately, the minister of aviation completely sidestepped the team and has gone ahead with his own programmes as determined by himself alone. Our unions have decided that we shall have to review our membership of the PDT if this type of public deceit and shenanigan continued.
“For now, however, being a component part of the team, we completely disown any false reports of the PDT upon which the ICRC might have erroneously based the issuance of the said C of C. We avow hereby that the said certificate was obtained on faulty grounds,” Aba said.
Comrade Francis Akinjole who is the Deputy General Secretary of ATSSAN said: “The planned concession of the only four revenue generating airports of FAAN is an ill wind of which the only beneficiary is the source of the wind. As such, our unions are against the exercise and will resist it with our strongest stance. We are compelled to act so in recognition of our corporate citizenship and our sacred responsibility to the general public and fellow Nigerians to safeguard our common patrimony.”