All is not well between the unions in the aviation industry and the ministry of aviation over the planned demolition of office buildings of three agencies in Lagos by the supervising ministry.
The action by the Minister of Aviation to pull down the buildings is to pave way for an airport cities called aerotropolis as part of the projects in the Aviation Roadmap which the unions described as ill intended, ill advised and wrongly timed.
To this end, the aviation unions: National Union of Air Transport Employees, NUATE, Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria ATSSSAN and the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals, ANAP have vowed to resist any attempt by the minister to demolish the buildings.
Union members came out in their numbers today chanting solidarity songs, carried placards with different inscriptions like, “Demolition of Aviation Headquarters must be resisted, if labour matter is not resolved, concession cannot take place, concession is against Nigeria interest, MM2 is an example of bad concession etc”, to express their frustration.
Briefing it members in Lagos today at a rally, the leadership of the unions made it clear that, there will be immediate action of cessation of work at all airports in Nigeria accompanied by public demonstrations nationwide if their warning is not heeded.
“We call on the Hon. Minister of Aviation to put his plan to demolish the Headquarters of FAAN, NAMA, and NCAA in Lagos on hold pending proper evaluation, planning and better timing. We consider that this plan, in the name of the so called aerotropolis, is ill intended, ill advised, and wrongly timed”.
Comrade Ocheme Aba, Secretary General, NUATE, who read the unions resolve called on the Federal Executive Council to halt further approvals on the airports concession programme, and indeed any other Aviation Road Map project, pending a comprehensive forensic audit of the projects undertaken up to this point.
” It is our firm belief that such audit will expose the activities so far to be wasteful of public funds, and to be tilted away from national good. This is the least the Council can do in order to redeem itself, in the face of the accusation that the Federal Executive Council has so far been railroaded into giving consent to bad deals for the Country”.
He urged all firms that are interested in partaking in the opportunities inherent in the Aviation Road Map to wait a while and not commit their useful funds to the current arrangements in respect of the road map projects, adding that, any firm that chooses to neglect this advice does so at their own peril.
“For our Unions will do everything rightly possible to ensure that all such unwholesome efforts do not bear fruit until the right things are done. Particular reference must be made to the airport concession bidders and those related to Nigeria Air. We are shouting, “buyers beware”.
” We Call on the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), and Civil Society Organisations to mobilize all Nigerian workers and the Nigerian people to join in our effort to rescue our common patrimony from the grasp of the powers that be in the aviation industry”.
“We call on FAAN staff and pensioners, and indeed the entire aviation workers, to stand ready for the fight of our lives in defense of our genuine rights and interests, and to save our industry from ruination”.
” We call on all patriotic Nigerians to join this once and for all battle to tell our elected leaders that our national assets do not belong to the few opportune individuals in government and their cronies for them to share and plunder, nor do they have powers to act as they please over national interests without our consent”.
Chairman ATSSSAN FAAN branch, comrade Ahmed Danjuma said, all issues regarding labour issues in the concession process are yet to be addressed when the process is almost at its final stage.
He noted that, the committee constituted to iron labour matters with the unions were foot dragging and have not called for any meeting or contacted the unions on the process.
Comrade Danjuma said, the unions have been making efforts but to no avail, adding that, if matters concern labour are not attended to, there will be a huge problem.
