alerts Sirika of Sycophants
As the planned concession of the five major airports in the country is
to be vigorously pursued by the newly re-appointed Minister of Aviation Senator Hadi Sirika, Unions in the Industry say they will not fold their hands and watch workers stripped of their means of livelihood.
To this end, the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP) has vowed to continue its opposition to the planned concession of some major airports across the country, namely Lagos, Abuja, Port-Harcourt and Kano.
General Secretary, ANAP, Comrade Abdulrazaq Saidu, told newsmen at the weekend that the existence of numerous airstrips in the country safety and security could not be guaranteed in some of them, adding that the general insecurity across the country had made the proposal
unfavourable and dangerous.
He said if the proposal was to get the nod, several direct staff of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) would lose their jobs, while thousands of indirect staff would also be affected, stressing that this negated the policy of the government to create
more jobs for qualified Nigerians.
“We are saying capital no to the planned concession of our airports.
This is simple, we have security challenges in the country and we
can’t leave our security in the hands of individuals or private organizations that we don’t trust or know their backgrounds.
“Just recently, somebody beat the security to gain access to the aircraft at Lagos Airport. If the government concessions the major gateways, it will be a haven for drug peddlers, money launderers and importation of unapproved ammunitions. We will be sitting on the keg of gunpowder.”
The ANAP Scribe applauded the government in its plans to birth a new
national carrier for Nigeria after the liquidation of the former, Nigeria Airways in 2004.
But, for the national carrier not to run into comatose in the next few year, Saidu canvassed for limited shares for Federal and State governments, insisting that its modus operandi must be laid bare before the entire stakeholders in the industry.
He warned that the composition of a new national carrier in the mode
of Nigeria Airways would failed, noting that investors, individual and
core investors should take the lead in the planned airline.
He described Sirika as a “good man” who wanted the best for the
industry, but warned him against the activities of “sycophants in the
ministry.”
