President, Aviation Roundtable Safety Initiative, ART, Elder Gbenga Olowo says the Ministry Aviation is the major problem of the industry, describing it as a clog in the wheel of progress.
He therefore called for the Ministry to be scrapped and made a small department in the Ministry of transport as it is done in other climes.
“Aviation ministry should be shut down, I don’t know if you agree with me, it has always been my struggle because Aviation Ministry to a very large extent they are a clog on the wheel, clog on the wheel of Aviation movement. Most of our bosses are not here, they are in Abuja and I don’t know what they are doing there”.
Elder Olowo during his opening speech at the ART Quarterly Breakfast Meeting in Lagos with theme: “Safety Challenges in Air Navigation and Air Traffic Service Delivery”, said the ministry was a distraction to the heads of the various Agencies who seem not to be focused in doing their jobs due to their frequent visits/ summons to Abuja by the minister.
“If we don’t have Aviation Ministry and we have a small department in transport, they wouldn’t be putting too much burden on the practitioners in the sector, they can focus, the DG can focus on Aviation and the guy in Maritime would focus on Maritime and the guy on road would focus on road and the minister would have so much to handle, they would not be disturbing aviation people, that is my drive”.
Olowo added, “Aviation has been subjected to junior minister I would like to see that cancelled totally, we don’t want a minister. We want aviation the way it is done in other area under transport, very small ministry, so that our professionals can do their job. NCAA would be empowered to do what he has to do, NAMA would do its priority, FAAN would place their priority on what they need to do and not political influence around them all the time”.
