The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) branch of the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP) has elected its new executive members at the union’s delegates conference held at the weekend.
Comrade Benjamin Godwin and Comrade Ige Abayomi were elected as the new Chairman and Vice Chairman respectively. Others are: Adebisi Saheed as Secretary; Ifoh Patience as women leader; Ugwu Chinasa as treasurer; Ogundele Funmi as deputy women leader amongst others.
The election of the new executive members took place at the NCAA Annex at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, shortly after the conference was declared open by the NCAA Director of Human Resources and Admin (DHR&A), Sanusi Ahmed Abbas who was represented by the General Manager, Human Resources, Anthony Ayasal.
The excos emerged through a unanimous vote of confidence on the incoming excos who, before now, were Caretaker Committee members. The motion of vote of confidence on Comrade Benjamin Godwin led team was moved by Comrade Akogun Ojo Gabriel and was seconded by Comrade Raheem Kamil, all of the NCAA.
Speaking after the inauguration ceremony, the new Chairman, Benjamin Godwin said that he was happy that their ANAP members in NCAA finally instituted a vote of confidence on his team.
He said “I feel elated and happy that there is a vote of confidence on my team. Initially, we were just Caretaker Committee members but the delegates have officially given us the mandate to run the union. We promise to keep the hard work going. We will do all our best to make sure the interest of our workers are protected. The welfare of our workers is our number one priority. That we intend to do at all times. That will be our watchword”.
“My team and I will contribute to do our best. You can see them making sure to ensure that we are reelected. A lot of people are happy with what we are doing. Initially, we were 40 in number but now we are close to 200 members. To achieve this in 2 years is amazing”, the new chairman said.
Emphasising that ANAP strength is due to the absolute trust that its members had on the union, Godwin who described ANAP as fastest growing union in Nigeria aviation industry said “Initially, we were just 40 but today, we are almost 200 in number. Our growth is due to trust. ANAP is the fastest growing union in Nigeria aviation industry. We are not lagging behind in the pursuit of our growth. We want to assure you that the interest of our workers remains a top priority”.
In his remarks, Secretary General of ANAP, Comrade Abdulrasaq Saidu congratulated the NCAA branch of ANAP stating that the issue of Condition of Service (Cos) for aviation workers and the issue of employment racketeering in aviation sector would be addressed holistically. Comrade Saidu pointed out that some categories of aviation workers who are not supposed to be members of certain aviation unions but forced their ways into the unions.
On what is expected of all ANAP members, Saidu said “we have to get labour unity and industrial democracy. All members are expected to deal with each other with honesty. It is also important that we team up with other unions to strengthen workers welfare. We should allow ANAP constitution to guide us. Most people in NUATE and ATSSSAN are not supposed to be there. If you are a professional and at the administration cadre, ANAP is the place to be. Very soon, if they don’t cooperate, we will take them to court”.
In his opening speech, Ayasal had applauded the union members, promising that NCAA management would support whoever that emerged as winner.
He said “I have been part and parcel of ANAP. I want to use this opportunity to congratulate ANAP and thank them for the recent award bestowed on the director general of NCAA, Capt Usman Murtah. I applaud the views of the idea of constructive engagement with the management as observed by the last speaker. We will give support to whoever that emerges in today’s election. I therefore, declare the conference open”, Ayasal said.
The delegates’ conference, where ANAP delegates reconvened to elect their new executive members who would pilot the affairs of the union for the next 4 years, is the first since the NCAA branch was inaugurated few years ago.
ANAP is a duly registered Trade Union by the Registrar of Trade Union-Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment to protect and represent the interest of Aviation Professionals and Administrative cadres in the Aviation Industry.
